Teacher's Revenge
by RedWheeler
Summary: Miss Kincaid feels she is going crazy because of her two students' constant bickering, so she turns to a small strand in math for help. Now... where did she put those handcuffs? TyHil Complete.
1. Prologue

**A/N**: This is my first fanfic so if it's a little green around the edges, that's the reason. I worked hard on this so if you could leave a review I would greatly appreciate it.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade, who would've guessed?

Prologue

"Don't make me go back, don't make me go back, don't make me go back…. Please, please, please do not make me go back."

She was scared. The muttering of protest seemed to spew out of her mouth repeatedly in a chant. It went quite well with the trembling in the farthest corner of her apartment. Indeed that was very best way to deal with fear.

Holding her knees to her chest she rocked back and forth while mentally cursing herself for denying her mother's advice.

"Become a dentist," it rang within her head.

She flinched from the pain she had endured these last few years. She yearned to hold floss within her fingers, to count teeth, to prevent cavities and to think of all the gingivitis she could've warned people of. Sadly she wished for the smell of bad breath over what she had.

But no, at the point of her life where she got to choose her occupation she wanted to hear excitement as children greeted her. "Good morning Miss Kincaid," they would say as they bowed politely.

Sobbing this same woman cowered at the thought of going back to that institution where she would come face to face with children, her students. But she wasn't scared of all of them.

Only two.

Though the young teacher had to admit the first couple days were fine, simple even. But then again, they always are. It soon evolved into a catastrophe that happened daily.

Their ritual, it had become her fear.

A broken record replayed in her head. It was constant arguments. Bickering that exploded into confrontation where the two were merely inches away from one another. It was always the same, in both senses.

Her eyes squeezed shut as familiar haunting picture pressured itself to her memory. The closing click of the door during morning exercises often started the whole predicament off.

"You're late!" a shrilling voice echoed within the teacher's ears, or sometimes it was a, "This is class, why are sleeping?"

The demands were often answered the same, a simple shrug of the shoulders. This making the one who yelled, a female pupil of hers, become angrier. She would soon rant about how this boy deserved thousands of detentions.

Her voice would often yell, "Miss Kincaid! He has to have extra cleaning duties. Better yet, the way he's going, we should get the school to invest in his own broom…."

That comment would irk the boy, the student who usually came late or slept in class, and he would soon begin to yell. Their banters would go back and forth until one of them became tired of their game or felt that they had won. Then Miss Kincaid could creep out of her hiding spot behind her desk.

The young woman continued to rock back and forth as she wept, her shoulders shaking from her sobs. "I-I need to do something…," she told herself.

She knew her advantage over her two students though. She knew why they fought so heatedly every single day of their grade eight lives. It wasn't to spite their beloved teacher; it was because the truth had not yet dawned on them. And by the time it does she just may be in an asylum.

What she needed now was answers; the solution would help her figure out the problem. Much like the case in algebra, you must know enough information to find the missing variables.

Miss Kincaid stopped her rocking; it was so very clear now. Realization suddenly slapped her in the face; her answers lied in her fears.

Scrambling across the room on her knees she ripped open her bag, the one in which she brought daily to school. She began to toss loose papers over her shoulders frantically as she searched physically for her answers.

An evil smile played on her lips as she laid eyes on what she had been searching for. Her fingers delicately traced the binding and the surface of the cover as she lifted up a book out of the bag.

'The Eight Grade Teacher's Manual' was boldly printed on the cover. She looked upon it with awe for a few moments, this was her saviour.

The dead silence of her apartment was broken when Miss Kincaid began to cackle. The evil was evident within this laughter; plans had begun to sprout inside her mind already.

But one thought wouldn't leave her alone. It pressed against her mind almost annoyingly. She couldn't do that though, no… it was too evil. Yet at the same time it was perfect, nothing could be better.

Revenge wasn't the issue though; she didn't want to teach a lesson to them, especially since only one of them would actually be listening. It was more of the idea that she wanted them to finally shut-up.

But she had to make her decision final, this needed to be done. Randomly opening the teacher's manual she flipped through pages until she reached the built in planner. Then she looked around the floor for a pencil that may have decorated the floor as did the scattered papers.

Catching sight of one she grabbed it and messily sketched in the plan for tomorrow. Cackles again filled the air as her eyes gleamed eerily at the words before her.

It was a little known fact that Miss Kincaid had to teach a small strand in math called probability, and what better time to do things then the present?

Miss Kincaid was positive she was going crazy because of these two pupils of hers. It was probably more than likely she already has, but that didn't matter. It was impossible for this plan to fail, or she hoped so for her sanity's sake.

She was going to break that record even further, she was going to crumble it to pieces then burn it. And after it turns to ashes she is going to bury it away for eternity.

Their little argument days were over, she was going to make them pay. A small strand in math was going to save her sanity… if she still had some.

Now… where did she put those handcuffs?

**A/N**: It was sort of short, but it's only the prologue. If you wouldn't mind could you please review, again it would be appreciated.


	2. Chapter 1: Teacher's Pets

**A/N**: 5 Reviews! That was 5 more then I was expecting…. So thank you **allie oops**, **Thiaf**, **Iluvbeyblade**,** Apple**, and** Lyrikkal**. I cannot extend my thanks enough, it truly means a lot to me. This update will probably be the fastest one… but I guess only time will tell.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade, and I'm thinking most likely I never will.

Chapter One: Teacher's Pets

Drinking her morning coffee Miss Kincaid watched her students warily. Not everyone had arrived yet, including one half of her problem. This could only mean one thing, their game had restarted.

Gulping at that thought the woman eyed her manual that lay in front of her on the wooden desk. Inside held the secrets of her plan, a plan she would nervously go through with.

Her thoughts became obsessed with the idea; they acted out the whole ordeal numerous times. And because of her absorption in the whole aspect she nearly jumped when the first bell sounded.

Startled she came to focus on the now seated students of her class. Well moulded children they were, hands folded on the desk as each and every one of them sat up straight. But there was one who had perfected this stance to a very eye lash; unfortunately she was also part of this problem.

Miss Kincaid's lips thinned as she noticed there was one empty seat today, though it usually was unoccupied until ten after or so. Nonetheless it made the woman uneasy.

"Good morning class," she greeted suddenly realizing that she had been just staring at them. She had followed this with a small bow as a pink tinge filled her cheeks from embarrassment.

"Good morning Miss Kincaid," her students replied back with a respectful bow. The words she had yearned to hear for many years were not as sweet as she wished. She knew the moment would turn sour.

Studying the class for a second she realized a lot of her students were wearing perplexed expressions. Smiling weakly to them she reluctantly turned to face the chalkboard; she couldn't exactly blame them for thinking she was a little off today.

And she didn't exactly help her own judgement when her eyes fell to the white chalk on the ledge and never moved. She stared down the chalk knowing that if she picked it up everything would fall apart.

But she couldn't teach any lessons without the substance. So Miss Kincaid had to go through with it.

Closing her eyes she prepared herself for the ritual to begin as her hand shakily reached for the long, white chalk. Her fingers brushed softly against its surface before slowly picking it up.

Once it was firmly in her grasp she squeezed her eyes closed tighter waiting for the click of the door. A couple seconds passed when she realized there was only silence. This made her eyes open slowly to once again see the classroom surroundings.

A relief suddenly wafted over her; maybe for once she was getting a day off. Maybe he was-

_Click!_

Miss Kincaid cursed herself for having hope in this situation. It seemed that though their intentions are never purposeful they still managed to spite her in the process.

Counting backwards from ten she put the chalk back on the ledge. Once she hit zero a screech of a chair against the floor was heard, one of her pupils had stood up.

"You're late," was the first predicted statement.

Miss Kincaid inwardly flinched as she turned to face the scene of her nightmares. She watched with wide eyes as she told herself mentally that this would be the last time this would ever happen.

Her other pupil, the male one who had come late, had stopped walking towards his desk. His shoes that had been squeaking against the flooring suddenly came to a halt as he turned curiously to the girl. With a smile full of pride he merely shrugged.

Giving him a venomous glare the girl's hands resided to her hips. "Tyson, do you even care? This isn't a game, or didn't you know that everything isn't all fun and laughs? You need discipline."

The boy, Tyson, sighed dramatically. He could tell by the tone of her voice she had entered lecture mode and like usual he was her target.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he shook off her statements with the wave of his hand, "And I need a billion detentions to make sure I get things together… jez Hil, I think I know the drill by now."

Scowling at him she remarked, "It's Hilary to you."

Tyson rolled his eyes as he removed his backpack from the shoulder it had slung over. Dropping it on the floor by his desk he pulled out the chair.

Before he sat down he turned to Hilary with a smile, "If you're done disrupting class I'm sure Miss Kincaid would love to teach us something."

Hilary's hands dropped from their places on her hips as they balled into fists. "I'm disrupting class?" she fumed.

He stared up to her from his spot in the class innocently. "Well you were the one who stopped me from going quietly to my seat just so you could scold me," he said plainly.

"To tell you the truth Tyson, I have no clue how you got to grade eight," Hilary stated with a frown. This made Tyson stare at her curiously. "I have suspicions you can't even tell time…."

Growling Tyson began to lose his cool, but a hand rested on his shoulder preventing him from again standing up. Looking beside him he saw one of his friends.

"Just let it go Tyson…," the boy told him.

Sighing he agreed with a nod. Tyson then looked to the front of the class where nothing particular was happening.

Miss Kincaid watched as the two settled down again, this made the class turn their attention back to her. She stood there in silence slowly coming at ease with her calm. The class again stared perplexed.

"Miss Kincaid… are you okay?" Hilary asked a little worried by her teacher's behaviour.

The question had snapped her back into reality. A blush crept into her cheeks from being caught again within the depths of her mind, she quickly nodded her answer.

Gathering her thoughts together Miss Kincaid opened the teacher's manual to today's lesson plan. Her eyes lingered on the out of place pencil markings as a rush came to her. This was just the beginning, soon her class would be the best behaved and the possibility of her becoming teacher of the year entered her mind. But then again this would consist of her actually teaching them something.

Realizing that was her mistake for the day Miss Kincaid turned to the chalkboard; picking up the same long, white piece of chalk so she could begin to write she told the class, "Please take out your math books."

An exasperated sigh was heard from the very back of the class. Miss Kincaid flinched knowing who it was and what it could start. But for the second time today she was surprised when nothing else was heard.

This could only mean a couple things. One: Hilary was out cold, or Two: Hilary felt that she won their last argument segment and/or didn't want Tyson to come at her with the "You're the one whose disrupting class" line again.

Waiting for a moment to see if anything would explode from that sigh she was relieved to find out it was one of the rare false alarms. She then wrote down a single word on the board.

"Does anybody know what this word means?" Miss Kincaid questioned turning to face her students. One of her slender fingers pointed to the word probability.

One hand flew straight up in the air. The same one that rose after every single question was asked; it was another daily occurrence. But this one did not strike fear into the teacher's life, this one actually made life easier.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the class looking for shy, barley raised arms. She had not seen any, though she did see a glimpse of a bored Tyson already lost with the outside world, also known as the window.

"Hilary?" Miss Kincaid called upon the class president seeing that she seemed to be the only one with knowledge on the topic.

The girl stood up after being called on and began to define the word. "A measure of how often a particular event will occur if something is done repeatedly which results in any of a number of possible events. An example of probability is if you flip a coin multiple times, it will either be heads or tails," Hilary said almost as if she memorized every word and was merely reciting.

"Very good Hilary," Miss Kincaid told her as the girl again sat down. The teacher began to write a simpler version of the definition.

Sadly that wasn't the definition she was looking for. That didn't go with her plan to a very T, thus it wasn't the correct segue she was looking for.

"Miss…?" a reluctant voice spoke up from the same back corner Tyson sat. Hearing the question in his voice she again turned to face her students.

Seeing the boy who's hand was up she nodded to him, "Yes Kenny?"

Kenny, who was often the referee to Tyson and Hilary's arguments, stood up slowly. "Probability can also be in one occurrence which is estimated upon to what seems most proper," he shyly added to Hilary's definition.

Miss Kincaid beamed wearing a huge grin suddenly, "Thank you Kenny that was excellent!"

The smaller boy nodded taking her thanks before sitting down, though he, like most of the class, had no clue why it had meant so much to their teacher to hear that way of stating probability.

Writing down that definition, also in a simple version, Miss Kincaid began to explain herself. "I'm glad you brought that up, you see that's what our strand of probability is going to be based on," she stated.

Her students were not as thrilled as she was. Most looked on blankly to her words on the board, Tyson still continued to look out the window.

Miss Kincaid took in a sharp breath; it was the moment she was waiting for. Finally it was time to end her pain and suffering, no more tears. Rocking back and forth would now only take place if she chose to buy a rocking chair.

"Tyson and Hilary, could you please join me at the front of the room?" Miss Kincaid said. The words flew out of her mouth just as she wanted.

Yet not everything went according to her pencil marked plans. Hilary had joined her teacher at the front of the room wearing a curious look. Unfortunately Tyson had been caught up in the world outside and failed to even notice his name being called.

And before Miss Kincaid could even call on him again a yelp was heard. "Ow!" Tyson yelled rubbing his side where Kenny had jabbed him with his elbow. Noticing that a lot of people were staring at him he smiled nervously before guessing, "Uh… two?"

Smirks of amusement were shared amongst classmates as Kenny shook his head sadly. "That's not what she asked you…," he mumbled.

"Oh… sorry," Tyson said, "Wrong question, what number are we on?"

Kenny held his head in his hands, "She asked you to join her in the front of the class…."

"Typical," Hilary scoffed, "You weren't even listening."

"I was so," Tyson frowned as he made his way to join them at the head of the class. He then pointed to her accusingly, "Your annoying voice plagued my ears!"

"I'm glad you learned a new word Tyson, but it doesn't make you any smarter," Hilary rolled her eyes then smacked Tyson's pointing hand away when he came into distance, "And don't point, it's rude."

"For your information Hilary, just because you answer every question and get straight A's doesn't mean you're smart!" Tyson shot back.

Hilary stared at him incredulously, "Tyson, that didn't even make sense."

"You don't make sense!" Tyson yelled with frustration as he again pointed at her.

"Wow you're a genius," Hilary said sarcastically smacking his hand away for the second time. "And I told you, pointing is rude."

Tyson ignored her last comment, "I'm smarter than you."

"Oh you are not," Hilary snapped.

Miss Kincaid had found herself leaning slightly against the chalkboard, never had she been this close to one of their heated arguments. And by the looks of it, it was going to be one of their bad ones.

Needing to stop the dispute before other classrooms were disturbed she made her way to her desk by slowly side stepping. Any obvious movements may catch their attention and officially ruin the whole plan as she knew it.

She glanced towards the pair, who was now prodding each other back and forth as they screamed at one another, to see if the coast was clear. Seeing as it was her opportunity she dived for the bag that was behind the desk.

Landing on the hard floor had hurt more than expected, but she ignored the pain. Instead she listened closely to see if her subtle movements had been caught.

"Okay Hilary, I think I'm a little smarter than a platypus," Tyson scowled.

Luckily for Miss Kincaid their argument seemed to be still going on. So she quickly scrambled the rest of the way to her bag.

Opening it carefully so the bag did not make a loud unzipping noise she removed the object that was critical to the plan. Tracing the metal delicately she smiled suppressing the urge to cackle.

Standing up from the same spot she hid the object behind her back. Her regained composure only lasted so long before nerves settled in once again. She realized she had to get close to the wildfire undetected.

"Tyson, your math book wasn't even open," Hilary sighed angrily. Both her and the one she was scolding failed to notice that Miss Kincaid was approaching them stealthily.

"Sorry Hilary, I didn't realize my math book had to be open as much as your mouth is," Tyson snapped, "It's always nag, nag, nag."

"I do not nag Tyson," Hilary said prodding him hard in the chest, "You just take my help the wrong way."

Tyson snorted, "Help… uh huh okay Hilary."

At this point Miss Kincaid had slid her way back to her original position by Tyson and Hilary. Her eyes darted between the two as she waited for the right moment to strike. But something was holding her back….

What if they caught her before she was able to use the object that was hidden behind her back? The pair then would turn to the woman; their eyes would be blazing with an inferno of anger.

Their tempers would sky rocket as they cornered her in her very own classroom. Her other students would all jump on their desks as they chanted, "You ruined the game, you ruined the game!"

And it would be the truth.

Miss Kincaid shuddered as the thought of all of her students turning on her because of these two. That was why she had to do this now…. And this concept made her grasp the metal object behind her harder from fear.

"Listen to me Hilary," Tyson interrupted the girl who had been naming off his faults, "When it comes down to it, I'm smarter."

Miss Kincaid slowly moved a step forward….

"No listen to me Tyson, you're not," Hilary disagreed.

Her eyes fell to her two pupils' hands which were balled into fists by their own sides….

"Oh I think I am," Tyson stated.

She couldn't help but notice that they were just the right distance away for her plan to work….

"Don't think so," Hilary protested.

One movement left….

"Ye-," Tyson started but had been cut short.

A clicking sound was heard simultaneously around the classroom. It silenced everyone amazingly and heads were turning every which way in a curious manner. Nobody had known where it came from… except for three.

Miss Kincaid had taken a deep breath and held it awaiting the two students' reactions. So far the situation was going according to plan, but it seemed to be riding on this.

Tyson was the first to react when cold metal brushed against the exposed skin of his wrist. He had looked down to see the source of whatever was touching him when his eyes went wide. His jaw soon decided to hang open in disbelief.

Seeing his reaction Hilary followed suit. She had not felt the metal against her skin because of her pink shirt clothed where it had cuffed on. But the scene before her was enough to make her want to scream. This couldn't be happening to her, she was being chained to Tyson. That had to be a crime against humanity.

In the same instant Tyson and Hilary both snapped their gazes to Miss Kincaid, both had eyes ridden with fear, it seemed the tables had turned. As realization began to sink in the pair finally chose to shakily speak in confusion.

"Ah!" Tyson had screamed once he found his voice. His hand whipped up as he shook it for effect, this of course dragging Hilary's along and it bobbed the same action weakly, "Handcuffs?"

Hilary stared at their teacher in question; she didn't even bother scolding Tyson for pulling her arm everywhere. "M-miss Kincaid?" she said in wonderment.

"W-welcome to our first lesson in probability," Miss Kincaid said smiling nervously.

Hilary instantly paled, "Y-you mean…?"

Tyson gasped, "We're going to jail?"

**A/N: **It was a tad bit longer then the prologue, I promise the story line will actually unfold in the next chapter. Right now I suppose it does not seem too clear. Don't forget to review, I appreciate it greatly!


	3. Chapter 2: This Metal That Binds Us

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter, sorry it took so long…. As lame as it may sound I had to draw my room for art class which took up a lot of my time this weekend, school and its joys, eh? I would like to thank** ktwesterna**, **CucumberPickles**, **Apple** and **Thiaf**. Well without further ado….

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Beyblade then don't you think you would know me by now?

Chapter Two: This Metal That Binds Us

Hilary had, for a few seconds to say the least, came to a calm with Tyson argument wise. The being chained part still bothered her to a high degree. But the consensus between them had shattered when again the boy's stupidity managed to shine through.

"We're going to jail?" Tyson had exclaimed loudly.

True she didn't know exactly what was happening, yet she still had the common sense to know that they were not going behind bars. Their teacher had even stated it had to do with their new math subject, probability.

"Tyson don't be stupid," Hilary told him.

"I'm not being stupid Hilary," Tyson snapped, he seemed to be a little more irritable than usual. "What do you think these are?"

He again shook his wrist towards her face for an effect. Before Hilary could answer him then follow through with a scold the school bell had sounded.

The class fell silent as Miss Kincaid checked her watch in disbelief. "I-I guess it's already first break… class dismissed, we'll continue after," she said nervously.

Students disembarked from the class, all followed by a reluctant Kenny. Leaving out the door he gave his friends a shy smile, neither had seemed too pleased with their position.

"A-aren't you two… leaving?" Miss Kincaid questioned seeing as Tyson and Hilary had never budged from their spots. Her eyes darted between her two students waiting for the moment one would dare to move.

"Out there?" Tyson stressed pointing towards the classroom door, "You got to be kidding me…."

"For once Miss Kincaid, I have to agree with him," Hilary sighed at that fact.

Tyson nodded, "And I have some questions-."

"That will be answered in class," Miss Kincaid had cut him off. He seemed baffled for a moment but quickly regained his composure, as soon as his mouth opened to speak again though Miss Kincaid had again interrupted him. "Got to go take that call!" she screamed before practically charging out the door.

When the door had slammed shut behind Miss Kincaid the pair who were handcuffed just stared blankly after her in an eerie silence. Tyson's frown creased when he came to realize something.

"Hey… did that phone even ring?" he wondered.

Hilary shrugged in a moping manner, "Maybe she's calling someone."

"She didn't take the receiver…," Tyson stated.

"Then I don't know Tyson!" Hilary snapped suddenly.

Tyson simply whistled as he shook his head at her sudden explosion. He found it amusing that she could do a one eighty turn on her emotions in a matter of seconds.

Scratching his head he attempted to think of why their beloved teacher would chain him to this monster. This same monster coughed lightly as he continued to scratch his head in hopes that it would increase his chances of getting an idea. But it began to get hard when Hilary seemed to be coughing louder and louder.

"Ahem!" she yelled smacking Tyson hard in the arm.

"Ow… hey that hurt," he frowned as he stopped scratching his head to tend to the hurt arm. "What was that for?"

"In case you forgot," Hilary glared at him, "My arm is being stuck to your arm. And let me tell you something Tyson, I don't feel like scratching your head all day until some sort of spark comes alive."

Amazingly the boy just gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry Hil, forgot…."

Staring at him for a moment before looking away she mumbled a protest. "It's Hilary."

Then there was the dreaded awkward silence. They both stood there waiting for the bell to ring so they could finally get answers. Then all that they had to do was listen to the annoying ticking of the clock that was soon accompanied by foot steps heading in their direction.

Tyson and Hilary's gazes fell to the door as it opened revealing Miss Kincaid. The pair had come to the conclusion that she seemed slightly shifty today.

"Sorry about that, had to answer that call," Miss Kincaid said with a wry smile. She shifted her way to the chalkboard, "I suppose I should finish this note… bell's going to ring soon."

"Uh huh…," Tyson said slowly exchanging a glance with Hilary. And right on the teacher's cue the bell rang signalling that break was finished.

The class began to file back in just as Miss Kincaid finished writing five categories on the board. Hilary's suspicion and understanding had somewhat increased on the new found information, but Tyson was only rewarded with more confusion.

"Impossible, not likely, equal chances, most likely and positive?" Tyson read dumbly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's our options in guessing," Hilary informed him sparing Tyson a glance.

Raising a single eye brow he tilted his head in her direction, "Uh… for what?"

Their gazes met momentarily before they fell down to the metal that linked them together. Tyson had finally got the assumption that it had to do with the handcuffs as Hilary suddenly felt dread.

"What does being chained to this screaming banshee have to do with probability?" Tyson asked frustrated by the situation once again, "Let me guess, testing my sanity?"

Hilary's blood began to boil as she turned abruptly to face Tyson. "Screaming banshee?" she hissed in a deadly tone. Her glare alone had made the boy back away nervously, not that he could get far. "Screaming banshee?" she repeated.

Tyson raised his hands in defence, again dragging one of the angry girl's, as a wreak smile passed his lips. "Did I say screaming banshee?" he questioned nervously, "I meant beautiful maiden."

The girl continued to frown, "Those don't even sound alike."

He gave her one more thoughtful look before carefully switching his attention to their teacher. "Miss Kincaid, could you please give us some answers?" Tyson sighed, "This isn't exactly easy for us." Hilary nodded in agreement to this.

Miss Kincaid felt the urge to laugh at them, yet at the same time she wanted to scream at them, "This isn't easy for you? What about me?" She did not do either though; instead she chose to explain the rules of the new game.

Clasping her hands together in front of her, Miss Kincaid decided to quiz the class. "What is one thing you always need in probability?"

"Handcuffs," Tyson mumbled mockingly.

"How about a screaming banshee?" Hilary growled giving him yet another glare.

Tyson smiled weakly, "I meant that in the best way possible."

"Hmm," she grunted.

The class on the other hand sat puzzled as they tried to think of the answer. Seeing as it was quite obvious a hand shot up that for once that was not attached to Hilary.

"Yes Kenny?" Miss Kincaid called on the short boy for the second time that day.

"Well I'm guessing, but seeing as we have our subjects," Kenny began giving his friends an earnest look, "And our options of answers, we need a question."

"Exactly," Miss Kincaid nodded.

"So what's the question?" Tyson asked bluntly.

Questioning looks were directed at Miss Kincaid, no one really knew what the question could be. There really wasn't a vast selection of them that had to do with binding two people together with metal.

Miss Kincaid wet her lips lightly glancing around the room. Her students that were seated had curious, expectant looks on their faces. Sadly they seemed the most alive as she had ever seen them, though how many of their teachers bound Tyson and Hilary together? Speaking of which, those two were expressing separate feelings at the moment. Tyson seemed to be in a state of rage where Hilary was switching from anger to depression every few seconds.

"The question is…," Miss Kincaid delayed purposely just so the linked pair could feel a segment of the tortures she felt, "What are the chances that Tyson and Hilary could get along if they were handcuffed?"

"Impossible," was the simultaneous answer.

Tyson and Hilary snapped their gazes towards their peers, "What?"

"Nothing," everyone replied innocently.

"Well that was sort of an obvious question…," Kenny spoke up carefully. "You two don't get along, it would be a pretty interesting question." A few brave nods were scattered around the class in agreement.

Tyson scowled, "We get along all the time."

Hilary nodded, "Yeah."

"So why am I being attached to…," Tyson paused for a moment before pointing to Hilary, "Her."

Hilary bit her lip for a second before facing the boy in another phase of anger. "You were going to say screaming banshee again, weren't you?" she demanded.

"Yeah you two are real chums," Kenny deadpanned leaning into one of his hands. That remark had earned him two death glares which made him cower slightly behind his desk.

"Okay so we don't get along sometimes," Tyson admitted a little of the truth, though a thick layer of denial was evident in his voice. "But that doesn't really give you the right to lock us together."

"Don't think of this as a punishment Tyson," Miss Kincaid compromised in a soft manner, "Think of it as a… experiment."

"And every good experiment has a hypothesis!" Kenny spoke up excitedly.

"We're in math Chief, not science," Tyson reminded.

"Kenny has a point though," Miss Kincaid stated getting to the core of her action, "For probability you must put words to your thoughts. And this class believes it's impossible for you two to get along."

"Not everyone," Tyson protested looking to his fellow students, "Right?"

At this point everyone's eyes had strayed away from the World Champion. This must mean that they had to come to the same consensus about the handcuffed pair.

"Oh come on Kenny, you know the truth," Hilary told their friend, "It's not _impossible_ for us to get along."

Kenny sighed, "Not impossible per say…. But it is fairly unlikely."

Hilary's eyes narrowed into a slicing glare, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing…," Kenny gulped.

"It seems the stakes are stacked against you," Miss Kincaid commented writing their class' recordings on the chalkboard. "Where do you two stand? Do you think you can prove us wrong?"

Tyson nodded confidently, "Certain!"

Hilary nudged him in the ribs.

"Uh… most likely," he corrected himself rubbing his now sore side. "Besides, it's just one day."

Brushing the chalk off her hands Miss Kincaid turned her head to look at them innocently. "One week actually," she told them.

Tyson's face faltered, "What?"

"Now let me explain the rules," Miss Kincaid said glancing to the subjects before her, "And listen up because I will only say this once."

A rush of power reached Miss Kincaid suddenly, they were finally in the palm of her hands. Everything would soon fall into place after her explanation. But at the moment the horror that was worn on Tyson and Hilary's faces was satisfying enough.

"All this week you two will come to school on time directly to this class. Then you will be handcuffed until the last bell sounds. All day I will be evaluating you with the help of the class to see if you two are getting along or fighting," Miss Kincaid explained, "Also at the end of the day I will inform you if I felt overall that you were behaved or again if you were arguing. There will be a tally written on the chalkboard recording your progress, because you see whoever guesses correctly the outcome gets an A on this strand. If not you must take a test to determine your final mark. Your behaviour will be marked over this week; if we're right more times than you are, we win and vice versa. Any questions?"

"This isn't illegal?" Tyson asked.

Miss Kincaid simply ignored him, "I think that's enough math for today, could you two please take your seats? Oh… and speaking of which, Kenny could you please switch spots with Hilary this week?"

"Gladly," Kenny sighed in relief.

"Hey, how come?" Tyson scowled as Hilary began to drag him to the back of the class where their desks were.

"Well we can't exactly give sit across the room from each other with these, now can we?" Hilary frowned at his stupidity.

"And you can't exactly give me a break, now can you?" Tyson mocked sitting down as did Hilary.

"Thank you for the automatic A…," Kenny mumbled to himself as he sat at his new desk.

Hilary figured the time spent on lessons would be a breeze even with Tyson attached to her. She figured they would just coast through this week with nothing to worry about. She figured wrong.

A note was placed on the overhead for the class to copy down. Unfortunate for the both of them in the end, but Tyson was the one who blew this out of proportion.

The girl he was attached to was right handed, as was Tyson but that wasn't the problem. That hand was attached to Tyson's left so when her pen was being dragged along the page so was his.

And it wasn't a huge deal; it just gnawed at Tyson's patience. To tell the truth it was extremely annoying. But Tyson sucked it up, it wasn't like it could get worse.

That's when Hilary flipped the page over.

His hand was moved to the other side of the binder that was open. So now not only did it stretch him over to her side and drag his arm across the page but when it came close to the rings his hand was pinched against it.

The annoyance bubbled to the surface causing Tyson to bite out. "Can you become left handed?" he hissed at her in a low tone.

Peering at him for a moment before looking at the overhead Hilary merely smirked. "I don't know," she sighed, "Can you become mute?"

"You're pulling my hand across your page," Tyson told her, "Do you know how irritating that is?"

"Well it's your fault were in this mess," Hilary remarked.

"My fault?" Tyson said in awe, "How is it my fault?"

Hilary stared at him sceptically putting down her pen before turning to face him. The anger that sparked in her eyes was enough to want to run away, not that that would help in this situation.

"Are you kidding me?" Hilary wondered.

"Why would I waste my jokes on you?" Tyson smirked at her reaction.

"Well my time is on you," Hilary taunted.

"I thought I didn't know what time is," Tyson said thinking he had caught her.

"You do theoretically," Hilary sighed, "But the concept of the clock is beyond your years."

"Well at least in those years I accomplished something worthy," Tyson boasted.

"Oh yeah, real worthy," Hilary rolled her eyes, "A World Champion in spinning tops and teaching young children the art of slack."

"I'm not lazy," Tyson explained to her, "Besides, you were there cheering me on last time I tried remembering… not that I think of you."

"Thank God," Hilary frowned, "And what was I supposed to do boo you and want Dragoon sealed?"

"I think you had secret motives," Tyson shrugged.

"And I think your brain is smaller than my fingernails, so what's your point?" Hilary glared at him because of his accusation.

Tyson glanced down to her nails and his jaw dropped, "Those are the longest nails I've ever seen!"

"Gee Tyson; do you want to paint them?" Hilary said sarcastically.

"You could scratch someone's eyes out with them," Tyson continued in awe.

Glancing down at her nails she preceded shrug, "Want to see?"

"Ha Ha," Tyson laughed in a fake manner.

A light cough was heard suddenly from the front of the class. The pair who had been screaming at each other in the end twisted their heads to see Miss Kincaid and all their peers looking at them. The only difference was that this time their fellow students wore huge grins.

"Is everything okay?" Miss Kincaid questioned warily seeing their anger evaporate into embarrassment.

"Uh… fine," Hilary smiled weakly.

"Really, that sounded like an argument to me," a boy spoke up from the other side of the class.

"An argument?" Tyson repeated as if it was ridiculous, "No way, us? Not today."

Kenny sighed turning to look at his two friends, "You two were never good at lying…."

Tyson glared at him, "And you were never good at running… care to continue?"

Kenny quickly shook his head, "I don't think that was an argument Miss Kincaid, it was a… an excited conversation!"

Tyson and Hilary nodded, "Exactly."

"Uh huh…," Miss Kincaid said incredulously.

Shrugging their teacher returned to her lesson plan, though she knew the truth. She would let that one slide, besides there was sure to be a lot more.

Though that would soon change….

Tyson ran a hand through his hair, "That was close…."

"Ahem," Hilary coughed.

"Sorry…," Tyson sighed dropping his hand to his side, this letting Hilary's hand hang as well.

"Good thing we chose more than likely over certain," Hilary stated.

"I wouldn't say we, but I get what you mean," Tyson said, "This isn't going to be easy…."

Hilary nodded, "Yeah… hey what do you mean you wouldn't say we? We came to a consensus!"

Tyson rolled his eyes, "Oh yes and we sealed that like normal people do too, a hard nudge in the ribs!"

Hopefully that change would happen soon….

**A/N:** So now things are clear, well it works in my head. But then again that's not saying very much. Thank you for reading, reviews would be appreciated!


	4. Chapter 3: What Are The Chances?

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay… I wasn't too sure what I wanted from this chapter and it took me a while to decide. This would obviously be the turn out of my thoughts, I hope you enjoy. I would like to thank **amylovestakuya**, **reviewer**, **Kendo Baby**, **Apple**, **CucumberPickles**, **shadowtailmon, Animefanatic** and **Thiaf** for reviewing.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade, but I suppose you knew that.

Chapter Three: What Are The Chances?

"Come on Tyson, rise and shine! Do you really want Hilary on your case for being late?"

Kenny had arrived bright and early at the Granger dojo so that he could help his friend be on time. But so far that plan wasn't going as well as he had hoped. He had sadly resorted to curling his hands into fists so that he could pound on Tyson's door with all his will.

"Get up Tyson!" Kenny yelled before settling down to catch his breath. Hitting the door frantically like a mad man was quite hard on the small boy.

"I am up Chief," a voice stated from behind the brown haired boy.

Kenny jumped before spinning around to face Tyson. "Don't do that," he stressed pointing to him, "Why are you up already, did Hilary beat me to the punch?"

Tyson stared at him quizzically for a moment before realization dawned on him. "Oh… you mean is she here already?" he said before slumping against an outer wall of the dojo, "I hope not, I barely got seven hours of sleep last night because of her nagging…. It was stuck in my head; all I heard was blah, blah, blah."

"That's tragic," Kenny said.

"Anyways Chief, how come you didn't give up when you didn't get an answer?" Tyson wondered.

Kenny opened his mouth to reply when someone cut him off. "Maybe because that's the answer everyone gets in this usual situation."

Tyson sneered holding his head with a single hand, "Oh look my headache's here in person…."

"Good morning Hilary," Kenny greeted.

"Morning Kenny," Hilary smiled cheerfully for a moment before approaching Tyson. They stared at one another for a second in silence which concluded with Hilary smacking him right over his head. "It's your fault."

Rubbing his head he frowned, "No, I'm pretty sure if you whack someone with your hand in the end it's going to be your fault."

"I meant about yesterday," Hilary glared at him.

"It's one-zero," Tyson said.

"In the class' favour," Hilary reminded.

Tyson shrugged that statement off. "We can still make a comeback," he smiled pumping his fist high into the air.

"That will be the day…," Kenny sighed.

Hilary ignored his cynical behaviour and decided to take charge. "Come on Tyson, we don't want to be late," she told him. The two boys nodded following her out the dojo.

Kenny had to admit that so far they were doing pretty good. Regardless of the fact that neither was talking to the other nor even sparing a single glance. Whatever worked for them in the long run was what he supposed was good for them.

The boy smiled proudly to himself, he was sure that his friends could handle getting along if neither talked. That was when his face faltered, neither Tyson nor Hilary were ones for being quiet the whole day. Sure they could handle small moments, but a whole school day…? Now he was reminded with why he chose not likely.

"Think we can stop for something to eat?" Tyson asked pressing his face against the bakery's glass window. He began to drool looking at the delicacies before him.

"Tyson, school is starting soon…. You'll have to wait until after," Hilary glanced at him. The scene before her made her nose curl in a sign of disgust. "And get your face off that window; you're probably scaring off their customers."

The capped boy peeled himself off the window to reluctantly follow drill sergeant Hilary. "Oh please, I'll have you know that I break millions of hearts with this face," he smiled broadly.

Kenny moaned hitting himself in the face while Hilary snorted. "Tyson, I think you confused heart break with heart attack," she said, "Believe me, when people clasp their heart when you're around it's not because they think you're dreamy."

"Oh come on Hilary, who do you think you're fooling?" Tyson smirked, "Admit it, you think I'm attractive."

She stared at him for a few seconds before continuing on her way to their school. "I assure you Tyson," she scowled, "I do not."

"Fine Hil, whatever you say. But denying your feelings is pointless, especially when they're so easy to see," Tyson taunted in a singsong voice.

Kenny shook his head at the two who were ahead of him by a little. Tyson was grinning to the female brunette as he followed her by skipping almost along her side. Hilary on the other hand had become tense since this new conversation started and her pace had quickened.

"What do you mean?" she snapped.

Tyson laughed, "You seem a little embarrassed Hilary; that is… unless you're naturally that shade of red."

Hilary stopped walking abruptly having Kenny stop short as well. Though Tyson thinking he had actually got her for once had continued with his natural pace. That is until he collided into something immediately putting a stop to his laughter and teasing. Sadly for the boy it had knocked him off his feet and onto his back within a few seconds.

"Way to run into the school wall Tyson," Hilary rolled her eyes as she peered down to him. Her hands rested on her hips as she sighed, he knew that sigh. She was going to enter lecture mode.

"Please, can we just cut to the chase?" Tyson interrupted standing up from the ground.

"We have to get along today," Hilary stated.

"Agreed," Tyson nodded, "But you could've told me something I wasn't expecting…."

"Shut-up Tyson," she frowned.

He shrugged looking around for Kenny, someone he wouldn't be chained to the whole day. But for some reason he wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Where's Kenny?" Tyson asked.

Hilary glanced at him before looking around the vast school yard. "Uh… where's anyone?" she wondered.

"Oh…," Tyson realized, "We must be a little late…."

Never had he seen such a venomous look from this girl. "You made me late?" she hissed, "I'm never late."

Tyson raised his hands for protection against the girl who was about to fly off the handle, "Relax… it's not that bad…. H-Hil…? M-maybe you should calm down… Hilary!"

Time Passes

For the first time in his life Tyson felt bad for being late for class, which was weird because it was one of his earliest late times ever. Nonetheless it was nagging at him in a way that seemed greater than Hilary managed.

Leaning into his hand Tyson stole a glance to the same girl who sat beside him. Taking in her features he noticed an uncharacteristic solemn underline to them. Because of this he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

He kept telling himself it was just one sticker and that she should just suck it up. But then again… it was his fault.

The whole point was Miss Kincaid had this system for tardiness with stickers. You come on time you get a sticker placed by one's name; you can receive up to ten. But if you were late one was taken away. It was this huge bristle board chart by the classroom door.

He couldn't help but notice that practically everyone had ten except for, now, two. Tyson had the least amount with two and Hilary had nine. For as long as he could remember she always had the most, and he took away that perfection.

Tyson frowned when he again looked to Hilary. He still thought she was exaggerating the whole situation so he couldn't quite understand why it was bothering him to such a degree. The guilt began to ride on him a little too much so he decided to do something about it.

"Hey Hilary," Tyson whispered to her. But it was clear she was ignoring him, she gripped the pen within her fingers harder and stared at the chalkboard in front of her like there was no tomorrow. Sighing he decided to continue, "I'm sorry."

Hilary turned to look at him surprised, "What?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated louder.

Hearing voices from the back of the room Miss Kincaid stopped teaching. Knowing who it was already she looked to the pair who had been chained for almost half of the day.

"Is there a problem?" she wondered.

"Why Miss Kincaid, there is one," Tyson stood up boldly. Everyone turned to him wearing smiles, except Hilary, thinking this was the beginning of their second win.

Hilary glared at the boy who occupied the other end of the handcuffs, "What are you doing?"

Tyson merely looked down to her to give her a quick wink. This action made Hilary hide her face behind one of her hands as the idiot she was chained decided to continue on.

"You Miss Kincaid," Tyson began dramatically as he swiftly pointed to her in accusation, "Have made a mistake!"

Miss Kincaid looked at the note written on the board with a frown. She scanned it over looking for this mistake Tyson had found and was still pointing to in what he would entitle his courageous pose.

"Aha!" Miss Kincaid smiled erasing the grammatical error that had been written on the board. Turning back to face the boy she thanked him. "Thank you Tyson, I appreciate that."

"What?" Tyson questioned confused, "How come that was wrong…?"

"Oh… there's another mistake?" Miss Kincaid wondered sceptically as she tilted her head towards the chalkboard.

"For the love of…," Tyson sighed, "No."

"Tyson, what did I tell you about manners?" Hilary scolded smacking him across the arm closest to her.

"That when you really want to be polite you should point out all their faults in public then give them a good slap in the arm?" Tyson mocked shaking his head, "No thanks Hil…."

"Gee Tyson, talk about immature," Hilary stated.

"Okay… uh her name is Hilary and she's about this tall. If you see her around you better run because her introductions usually involve her fist," Tyson smirked.

"Wow Tyson," Hilary rolled her eyes, "You got me there."

"Fine, whatever," Tyson yelled before switching his gaze to their teacher again, "Miss Kincaid you made a mistake this morning. It was my fault we were late so you should take another one of my stickers and give it to Hilary."

Silence was followed after Tyson's suggestion, almost as if nobody could register the fact that he was being generous to Hilary Tatibana. This made Tyson feel uncomfortable under the class' pressuring gazes.

"Who says I want your sticker?" Hilary was about to cross her arms but quickly remembered the metal that was wrapped around her wrist.

Miss Kincaid let out a sigh of relief when the school bell sounded signalling lunch. The tension between Tyson and Hilary would then be out of her hands and brought upon the lunch time supervisors.

The pair didn't even have to be pushed out the doors today, they stormed out them themselves. Hilary was in lead in a now anger filled façade for a reason Tyson was unaware of. All he knew at the moment was that his guilt for this girl switched to rage.

"So what did I do now Hilary?" Tyson demanded, "Was my sticker not good enough for you? Was I being too straight forward? Was I too nice? Or is it that I'm never going to match up to the same standards as Hilary Tatibana?"

"You don't get it Tyson," she snapped.

"What don't I get?" Tyson bit out, "I'm not stupid Hilary and I hate to break it to you but I'm not perfect either."

Hilary smirked, "That's funny, I was pretty sure you thought you were."

Kenny, who had been trying to catch up to his exploding friends, had spoken up. "G-guys… M-maybe you should calm down, arguing isn't going to solve anything," he tried to reason with them.

"Know what I hate about you?" Tyson frowned.

"My very existence?" Hilary rolled her eyes.

"Close… but no," Tyson shook his head, "Your attitude, do you think you can get off your high horse soon or do you need a ladder?"

"No thanks, I'll jump as soon as you get off your golden pedestal your highness," Hilary snapped.

"Um… guys?" Kenny began to warn seeing a problem ahead in the hallway.

"So what don't I get Hil?" Tyson demanded to know.

Hilary shrugged, "Never mind."

"Don't you never mind me," Tyson growled, "I want to know, so tell me."

"Guys," Kenny said one more time.

"What?" they both yelled at him, but it was a little too late. The two that had been screaming at each other side by side down the hallway were suddenly pulled back with a jolt.

Kenny sighed, "There's a pole…."

And true that was. Tyson and Hilary looked at one another from opposite sides; the handcuffs had stopped them from going further. The situation became amusing for the other students who were wandering the halls.

Being embarrassed from the attention Hilary sighed looking to Tyson. "Come on, just walk around," she told him.

But he didn't budge. On the other hand he rested one free hand on his hip, "I don't think so… I may not do it right or at least not to Hilary standards."

"Whine much?" Hilary hissed, "I'm not going around."

"Well neither am I," Tyson stood his ground.

And that was how their standoff began, neither wanted to move. That would be defeat in their eyes and neither Tyson nor Hilary loved to lose, winning seemed to be all that mattered to them.

The amusement written on the students' faces were beginning to change. Soon it was switched to annoyance and impatience directed at the pair who decided to stop the traffic in the hallway, the only hallway leading to their cafeteria.

"Can one of you just move?" was an irritated shout from someone in the crowd. It didn't make a difference though, the pair stared one another down with murder in their eyes.

Unfortunately for pretty much everyone the pole that Tyson and Hilary had found their handcuffs wrapped around was one in which stood tall in the center of the doorway. This was its purpose, to lock this set of doors when the school was done for the day; not to capture arguing bound children.

"Just move Tyson," Hilary told him.

Continuing to stand his ground he shook his head in refusal. Tyson was not going to swallow his pride for this same girl who had shunned him when attempting to do something nice. And it had even been for her so he felt that he owed her nothing.

Kenny by this time had crept away in hopes that he would not be pulled into their student body's growing riot. Being a friend of the stubborn pair may just bring him to the wrong side of their booming impatience. So the smart boy had made a dash for his safe haven, the library.

The loud uproar of the ticked off students had made its way to the main office. Their angered voices had soon travelled in person to report the problem in the main hall. Numerous students claimed that two kids handcuffed were blocking the only way to their lunchroom or that two idiots decided to have a staring contest to the extreme.

Nonetheless an announcement was made; the teachers already knew who were handcuffed and the person brave enough to do that unthinkable.

"Miss Kincaid please make you're way down the main hall until you see a large mass of people surrounding an open doorway. Apparently it is not so open… could you fix that? Thank you."

Even with the announcement made Tyson and Hilary still would not move. It was like offering the other to go first without the politeness quality. And their peers were also beginning to lose this trait as well.

But the crowd of students had begun to part in the middle leaving a narrow walkway for one single person. That person, Miss Kincaid, found her way reluctantly through the mass of people. And as expected at the very front was her not so favourite students at the moment.

Sighing loudly Miss Kincaid ordered the pair to follow her. "Tyson, Hilary… come on," with this she turned around and made her way back the same she came.

Only this time the two she called upon broke their gazes to look at the retreating form of their teacher. Both knew what they had done and the defeat on both sides was evident. So Tyson and Hilary retreated slowly back to their classroom.

The mass of students were clearly not impressed as they walked by them. Glares were shot at them and people brushed passed them in anger as they were finally able to get to the other part of the school.

Though the fact that their peers were upset never truly reached them, they were caught up in the moment and how today was going to play out. The fact that again it wasn't probably going to end in their favour was weighing on their minds.

Neither had spoken a word since their scene in the hallway and they had approached their classroom. Walking inside they glanced a warning look to one another, not that it would now help.

"I think you two know why you're here," Miss Kincaid stated as Tyson and Hilary stood before her almost in defence. The two nodded in answer to what she had said. Again she sighed, "What happened?"

Taking charge of the situation Tyson claimed, "We were just talking when… boom! We were hooked around this pole."

"Another excited conversation I gather," Miss Kincaid reasoned sceptically to his statement.

"Uh…," Tyson smiled sheepishly.

"Then why didn't one of you just walk around the pole if you got caught on it?" their teacher wondered.

"Miss Kincaid we were arguing," Hilary confessed plainly causing her to nod. "Tyson didn't want to move because… he's Tyson. And I didn't feel like I should have to move."

"See! I don't get why I'm the one who always has to do things," Tyson frowned, "You're just as able as I am."

Before Hilary could remark Miss Kincaid stepped in. "You do realize what that public performance means for today right?" she asked drawing a single line beside one already made on the board, "Looks like the class is winning."

Tyson scowled, "We don't even get the rest of the day?"

"Believe me Tyson, there's nothing you can do to redeem yourself after that display," Miss Kincaid told him, "I think that's one of the most immature things I've ever seen you two do."

Tyson and Hilary both hung their heads in shame listening to their teacher. Both started to feel a little humiliated at how things turned out.

"You lose if they get one more day," Miss Kincaid went on, "Do you still think you can win?"

Tyson nodded with determination, "You bet, today was just another set back."

"We'll get them tomorrow," Hilary agreed.

Miss Kincaid silently hoped so. The plan has only really made things worse instead of preventing their heated arguments. Maybe it was a slow process.

"In the end it's going to be two-three instead of two-zero," Tyson grinned, "Like the class is going to beat me… I mean us."

Hilary ignored his last statement. She knew what had to be done. To get ahead they would just have to work on this project out of school. Then who would be smiling?

**A/N: **Longest chapter so far, but I'm not too sure about the turn out. Anyways thanks for reading, if you wouldn't mind could you review? Thank you.


	5. Chapter 4: The Opposition's Compromised

**A/N: **Here's Chapter 4, probably the best one to date (my opinion). It's been somewhat of a long delay so sorry about that. Thank you to **reviewer**, **Thiaf** and **amylovestakuya** for reviewing, I appreciate it greatly!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade, sorry if it disappoints you… though I doubtit does.

Chapter Four: The Opposition's Compromised Mission

"This is the stupidest idea ever," Tyson mumbled to himself as he laid on the floor of the main hall in his family's dojo. Leaning into his hand he propped himself up with the use of his elbow. "And she talks about me being late…."

He looked at the clock on the wall for around the seventh time since Hilary had been late. She was ten minutes late to be exact and it was starting to annoy him. He kept wondering what was taking so long, worrisome thoughts entered his mind when the dojo's door slid open.

"Sorry Tyson," Hilary apologized immediately. Closing the door behind her she continued to hide her hands behind her back.

Failing to even notice he looked to her unimpressed. "What took you so long, break one of your nails?" he questioned curiously.

Hilary let go of his stereotypical assumption as she returned his gaze. "I wanted to apologize…," she smiled softly.

She noticed his look of awe and bafflement soon became one of confusion. "Um… for what exactly?" he asked dumbly.

"It's my fault that today ended… like it did. Your gesture, to give me one of your few stickers, it was really considerate of you," Hilary stated coyly, "I acted way out of line… so I'm sorry."

She revealed a box from behind her back and handed it to the dumbfounded boy. He sat up from the floor staring down at the somewhat small box within his hands. Opening it up out of curiosity he smiled at the gift that was given to him.

"Hey, thanks Hil!" Tyson grinned up to the brunette, "You didn't have to go out and get me cookies, and I never get you anything."

"Yeah… well you were drooling all over them at that bakery this morning," Hilary told him, "I figured I'd get you some… that's why I was late."

"That's alright, everyone's late sometimes. Me more than others, but what are you going to do?" Tyson said grabbing a cookie out of the box, "Besides… what exactly did you want to talk about?"

Hilary sat down across from Tyson wearing a serious look. "We're seriously losing," she began.

"I thought we established that," Tyson frowned.

"Well… how are we going to win? I don't think we should wing it anymore, it's not exactly working," Hilary sighed, "They're watching us with a magnifying glass."

"That's a little weird," Tyson stated.

"Not literally," Hilary rolled her eyes, "I'm just saying we may have to take drastic measures if they're looking for every fault we make."

Tyson nodded before questioning, "Uh… how drastic?"

Hilary shrugged, "Whatever will make it look like we won't be arguing."

"Alright…," Tyson agreed, "So… which one of us is going to pretend that the other is dying? I mean, I'll volunteer, I'll get off of school for a while…."

Hilary glared at him, "Neither of us cause that's not our plan."

"Fine Hilary, why don't we just pretend we're dating," Tyson said sarcastically.

She sat in silence at the unintentional suggestion that was made. Pondering it over within her mind she finally looked up to the capped boy wearing a smile. This made him stare at her curiously not quite understanding.

"Why are you looking at me like th-…?" Tyson had started before he realized the answer to his unfinished question. His eyes grew wide before he dropped the cookie box in front of him so he could wave his arms around in disagreement. "No way Hilary, are you nuts? I was joking, we can think of something else… anything else!"

"Think about it, Tyson it's perfect," Hilary told him through his refusal. "They'll think we finally admitted out feelings."

He stopped moving his arms around like a maniac to stare at her. "Our… feelings? What feelings?" Tyson asked frantically.

"The ones we apparently have," Hilary told him, "Our closest friends think we like each other… they'll fall for it for sure."

"These close friends aren't the brightest at all times," Tyson said as he continued to try and convince Hilary to change their plan of action. "Uh… Max thinks that telling people we play bridge instead of beyblading is a conveying lie."

"Tyson will you stop making excuses and actually think about it," Hilary frowned at her ally's attempt to change her mind. "If we're… in love… who's going to doubt us and our non-argument ways?"

Tyson sighed, "Hil even if we were in love… which we're not-…."

"Of course not," Hilary cut in.

"We would probably still fight," he finished.

Hilary contemplated over this for a moment before coming to a decision. "Not if we were so head over heels with one another it seems sickly," she stated.

"You're kidding me… right?" Tyson questioned incredulously as he stared at the girl in front of him with wide eyes.

"Is it so hard to pretend you love me?" Hilary asked, "I have to act the same way with you…. No one will know what hit us."

"Yeah and that thought will be beside the one that reads 'Fakers' in giant bold letters," Tyson smirked, "Besides loving me is way easier than loving you."

"Why Tyson, that's sweet," Hilary stated, "But I'm not asking you to actually fall in love with me."

"You know what I meant," Tyson retorted finding the white box in front of him fascinating suddenly. "I don't believe I'm saying this but… I guess I'll be your pretend boyfriend for the rest of this school week…."

"Oddly glad to hear that," Hilary smiled.

"Unless," he added, "You know… we figure out this flawless idea before tomorrow morning."

Hilary reached forward making Tyson jerk his head up. Staring at him weirdly she patted him twice on the shoulder, "Don't hurt yourself."

"Yeah…," Tyson said slowly when Hilary sat back again. "So what exactly does this plan consist of?"

"Well first of all, I think we should make ground rules," Hilary stated.

"Ground rules?" Tyson questioned her statement. He picked up another cookie from the box and took a bite out of it. Chewing it over he reasoned with the thought, "Gee Hil you don't have to worry… it's not like I'm going to kiss you."

"Why not?" Hilary asked.

That question caught him off guard causing him to swallow a piece of the un-chewed cookie. This threw him into a coughing fit and he began to pound himself on the chest.

"Are you alright?" Hilary questioned with concern as she again reached out for him. He nodded vigorously as his choking died down, her hand rested on his shoulder in relief.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine," Tyson smiled nervously as he wiped away surfaced tears. He then coughed into his fist one final time to make sure everything was clear. "So… u-um…," he began as his eyes lowered from her eye level to the floorboards, "You want me to kiss… you?"

Hilary smirked returning her hand to her side from the sleeve of his shirt. "Oh I dream about it every night," she told him sarcastically.

Tyson shook his head at his own embarrassment, "How did I ever now?"

"Anyways… when I meant ground rules I meant our story," Hilary explained, "We have to know how everything took place like it actually happened. We need to make it seem like an actual part of our lives."

"In case you forgot, we'll be beside each other the whole day… I think we'll have the same story," Tyson reminded.

"Believe me… it didn't leave my mind," she told him.

"Okay, okay… we'll make up a story," Tyson sighed. He then began to rub his chin in deep thought, though not a lot was coming to mind. "Hmm…," he pondered out loud, "Maybe you should start things off."

Hilary immediately jumped in, almost like she had enough ideas to form millions of fake relationships. "It should be romant-…," she began, but stopped short when something dawned on her, "Oh wait… it's you."

"Hey, I'm plenty romantic," Tyson boasted taking an offence to her statement.

"Really?" she asked sceptically.

"Yeah," he frowned.

Smiling, Hilary crossed her arms. "Oh yeah?" she questioned with challenge in her voice, "How'd you ask me out then?"

"Uh…," Tyson paused for a moment to think things over, "I… I ran to your house in the middle of the night not able to deny my feelings anymore. I tried ringing the doorbell but no one would answer so I screamed my undying affection in the middle of the yard. You then opened your window and screamed 'Oh Tyson… I love you too!' Then your dad kicked me off your property."

Hilary stared at him for a moment, "How much television do you watch?"

Tyson shrugged, "Not much… hey, what do you mean? What's wrong with it?"

"It seems so cliché," Hilary sighed, "Haven't you ever heard of simple and sweet?"

"I thought that wouldn't be romantic enough," Tyson said, "So how much can we use?"

"The not being able to deny your feelings thing is good," Hilary answered, "Maybe we can use some truth though, like me bringing the cookies over."

"And then I spilled my guts," Tyson concluded with a confident nod.

"Uh… yeah, but let's not use that terminology," Hilary sighed at his wording, "It's not exactly the sweetest way of saying that."

Tyson once again shrugged, "Fine… I just told you how I felt…."

"Bashfully," Hilary added at the end.

"When am I ever shy?" Tyson rolled his eyes, "Believe me if I was going to ask you out – which may I add, will never happen – it would be the smoothest thing in history."

She had not meant to, but Hilary began to laugh hysterically. Tears were beginning to brim in her eyes when she finally noticing the unimpressed look on behalf of Tyson. "Sorry…," she giggled slightly.

"Quit it," he frowned, though it was more of a pout, "What's so funny anyways?"

"I don't know about you Tyson, but…," Hilary smirked seeing Tyson actually looking at her with all seriousness, "Y-you want me to k-kiss… you doesn't sound all that smooth to me."

"That caught me off guard!" Tyson snapped turning his head away from her.

"Well you don't have to worry Tyson, I don't want to kiss you," Hilary told him, "I'm more into… complex guys."

"Good," Tyson agreed, "Wait… are you saying I'm simple?"

"Uh…," Hilary stalled for a moment before quickly changing the subject, "Back to the game plan; what else should we settle now?"

Tyson let go the obvious change in subject with a sigh, "I think we should leave this ploy to ourselves," he stated, "Not even Kenny should know."

Hilary gave him a puzzled look, "Why not?"

"Are you kidding me? Who do you think they'll run to first when things get suspicious, which will probably be as soon as they find out we're… dating," Tyson said finding the last word a weird one to sound out.

"Who exactly are… they?" Hilary wondered.

"Our classmates," Tyson answered, "They're against us Hil. They want to win as badly as we do. Who wants to write a test they don't have to?"

"Uh… not me," Hilary laughed nervously.

Tyson merely rolled his eyes, "No offence to Kenny… but when people gang up against him he can sort of cave easily. And his lying skills aren't top notch… I don't want to feed him to sharks if you know what I mean."

Hilary nodded, "Yeah… I guess. He's going to think something's up though, especially if we're not believable."

"I'm a beyblader," Tyson stated, "Not an actor."

"Well… I guess we could practice being boyfriend and girlfriend," Hilary offered with a shrug. Tyson agreed with a small nod and the two sat in silence for a moment, an awkward one at that which was filled with a nervous cough or two. "Well?" she finally asked.

"Er… yeah?" Tyson smiled sheepishly.

Hilary rolled her eyes, "Uh huh… real smooth."

"Well I don't know," Tyson mumbled, "How do you act sickly cute?"

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen," Hilary told him suddenly.

Tyson stared at her baffled, "Pardon me?"

"I was staring us off," Hilary frowned.

"Oh…," he said in acknowledgement.

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen," Hilary repeated shaking her head slowly.

"Well… you're the cutest thing I've ever seen," Tyson said slowly, not too sure of himself.

"Well you're cuter," Hilary said.

Tyson gave a small smile, "Nah… you're cuter."

Hilary shook her head finding his smile contagious, "No, you're wrong, you are."

"Afraid not," Tyson sighed in a fake manner, "You are."

"No Tyson, you're cuter," Hilary refused.

"Hilary, don't argue with me over such an obvious concept," Tyson said dramatically, "You are definitely cuter."

Hilary laughed, "Do you think we'll get in trouble for still arguing?"

Tyson grinned, "It would be sort of funny if we did… but probably not; we're not disturbing anyone."

Hilary smiled standing up from the wooden floor. "I should probably go… it's getting pretty late," she said, "So I'll see you tomorrow… my not so smooth boyfriend for the week."

"If we can't think of anything else," Tyson added at the end following her lead to stand up.

"Good luck with that," she rolled her eyes.

"Thanks," he smiled, "And for the cookies too… you really didn't have to."

"I wanted to," she told him heading for the exit.

"Well then… thanks again," he said following closely behind.

"No problem Tyson," Hilary assured him opening the door with an easy slide. "I'll see you later," she told him again stepping outside as she turned to look at him.

"Yeah… hey Hil," Tyson stopped her from leaving right away. He gave her a small smile scratching the top of his nose in a nervous manner, "Just for the record… out of me and you, you're cuter."

**A/N:** Well there you go another addition to this story. Some development between Tyson and Hilary… which is about time, thank you for reading, please review!


	6. Chapter 5: Who's My Screaming Banshee?

**A/N: **Well… after a very long delay, here is Chapter 5. I would like to blame school, but it wasn't like I was locked in my room with a pile of homework for the whole month. I sort of pushed this away for a while… uh… sorry to anyone who actually cares. I would like to say thank you to **Kenrai**, **reviewer**, **Apple**, **Majestic** **Evil**, **Nik** **Nak**, **Kendo** **Baby**, **amylovestakuya**, **Thiaf** and **Anonymous** for the reviews.

**Disclaimer: **Yeah… I don't own Beyblade… at all.

Chapter Five: Who's My Screaming Banshee?

Hilary sighed before curling her fingers to make a fist, she then proceeded to hit Tyson's door twice in a slight case of annoyance. Already this Wednesday morning she had knocked on his door around ten times, each time she was replied with no answer.

"Tyson don't fool around," Hilary yelled at him, "I assume this means you didn't think of anything other than what we already spoke of."

"No, did you?" was the first reply of the morning.

Hilary suddenly felt a hand rest on her shoulder causing her to jump before spinning around. Glaring at Tyson, who stared at her confused, she smacked his hand off her.

"Is that a way to treat your boyfriend?" Tyson smiled.

She rolled her eyes, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," he laughed sheepishly, "But seriously, just because my door is closed does not mean I'm in there."

"Didn't you hear me yelling?" Hilary wondered.

Tyson frowned, "Couldn't exactly miss it… I was sort of hoping you'd lose your voice."

Glaring at him yet again she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and began to drag him. "Come on," were the only words she growled.

"Wait," he stopped her, "This isn't very couple-y."

"Couple-y? Uh… I don't think that's a word," Hilary stated.

"Hil, what's more important to you, our love for one another or a grammar lesson?" Tyson reasoned.

"Fine," Hilary shook her head.

Tyson on the other hand nodded, "So…?"

Hilary held her hand out to his reluctantly, though he sort of just stared at it confused for a moment. Glancing up to see her expression he noticed Hilary was looking at him like he was stupid, so he returned her gesture by taking her hand within his.

Neither said anything, another awkward silence had fitted between them. But Hilary soon got sick of that and again took charge. "Let's go…," she said beginning to somewhat drag him to school again.

Tyson had nodded once again, but this time it was somewhat stupidly. He found himself caught up with the feel of her hand, specifically how soft and unlike his they were.

Mustering up as much courage as he could manage, Tyson asked Hilary the question that had been weighing on his mind for a matter of seconds. "What exactly do you use on your hands? No matter what I use mine always remain rough from past blisters," he questioned curiously.

"The down side of beyblading?" Hilary asked wearing a smile as she glanced to him. He gave a small shrug to her rhetorical question. "I'm not sure… some cream… why?"

"I don't know," he said caressing his thumb softly over the top of her hand, "Your hands are just amazingly soft."

Hilary stared at him sceptically, "You're… practicing, right?"

Tyson immediately stopped, "Uh… yeah…."

"Good," she said.

"Uh huh," he smiled nervously.

"Yep," she nodded somewhat shyly.

Tyson pointed straight ahead with his free hand before declaring, "Onwards!"

The walk down the street towards their school had yet again become a silent one. Tyson and Hilary attempted to ignore the other as they went, a difficult task seeing as they were linked by their entwined fingers. Once again Hilary was sick of the silence first, she had come to terms with the face that when with this navy haired boy conversation usually followed suit, even if they often got too involved with their own enthusiastic opinions.

"Tyson," Hilary said softly, though suddenly, "I've been thinking…."

"Oh no," he muttered before looking to her at his side. Seeing the immediate glare that he was given he decided to shoot off his defence mechanism: his smile, "Just kidding love."

Hilary stared at him for a moment, "Love…? Tyson… no nicknames…."

"Aw, come on," Tyson grinned letting go of her hand and decided to sling his arm over her shoulders. He hugged her closer before continuing, "They're essential."

Hilary looked away from his practically joy ridden eyes as a crimson burned her cheeks. For someone who had hated this plan from the start he had become quite infused with it all of a sudden. Sighing she pushed him away somewhat; the closeness had been getting to her.

"No," she continued to disagree, a warning hung in her voice.

He let his arm hang loosely on her, or at least she was allowing the set distance. "So… are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"

Hilary tilted her head in puzzlement, "Huh?"

"I think you mean pardon," he smirked, "What have I told you about manners Hilary. I think it's about time you get some."

Hilary frowned, "You're one to talk."

"Yeah I am," he agreed with a shrug, "Anyways, I meant about what you were thinking of. Well, of course other than me…."

Hilary rolled her eyes wearing a smirk; she then proceeded with pushing Tyson's arm completely off her. That had earned her a forced pout on the boy's behalf.

"If we were actually… dating, would we be acting like this?" she questioned him.

Tyson merely shrugged, "This may come as a shock to you Hil, but I never really thought about it."

"Well think about it now," the brunette told him glancing to his nonchalant expression, "If you were to make an educated guess, what would you say?"

"I guess not…," Tyson stated after thinking about it for a few seconds. "I mean, if we actually loved each other so much to act like _that_ I guess I wouldn't want anyone to know about it."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Hilary agreed with him. That statement caused Tyson to stop in his tracks.

Placing his hands on his hips, he tilted his head in confusion. "Let me get this straight… we're not a couple pretending to be a couple but not acting like one because that's not who we… are?" Tyson asked, "Doesn't that kind of defeat the entire purpose?"

"No," Hilary shook her head, "We're not dating, but we are, yet pretending not to be though we obviously are."

"Uh huh…," Tyson nodded slowly still not getting it, "So… we're not, but we are, but not, but we are… though through it all we're not…."

Hilary nodded, "Exactly."

"Can I ask a question?" Tyson inquired.

"Sure," Hilary shrugged.

"Why exactly?" Tyson asked.

Hilary sighed, "It's simple really. You see… the class has to buy it ultimately, remember? And if it's not convincing then it's over before it starts, so if we do that things should go by smoothly."

"Oh yeah," Tyson said sarcastically as the pair continued on their way to school, "If I'm not confused…."

"Why would you be confused?" Hilary frowned.

"Just answer me one thing," Tyson stated, "Am I hitting on you or not?"

Hilary sighed once again, "You are, but you're not."

"Thanks… that helped," Tyson deadpanned.

"Well this is it," Hilary told herself, mostly, as they entered the school yard and headed for the doors. "Are you ready?" she turned to Tyson who wore a puzzled expression, which broke into a smile.

"Of course," he said boldly, "But maybe we should get going… ahem, we don't want to be late… again…."

Giving him a short and slight glare they made their way quickly to their classroom. Both had broken into a run through the hallway to a staircase that was the quickest way to Miss Kincaid's classroom. Speeding up the stairs, Tyson made sure to grab Hilary's hand, not that she had noticed. She had been too distracted with the thought of being late two times in a row.

"We're almost there," Tyson assured her as they made it to the top of the stairs and into the hallway that contained their classroom. Hilary nodded wearing a small smile as they sped down the hall, nearly falling to the ground when he had decided to slide to a semi-stop turning the corner into their class.

Immediately after their entrance the bell had rung. Hearing the victory sound, Tyson threw his hands into the air dragging one of Hilary's up. This had caused her to notice finally that they were holding hands.

"See, I am dependant," Tyson grinned to the brunette at his win. Sighing, Hilary gave in and smiled back due to his excitement.

A stir had broken out throughout the students though; whispers were shared amongst those who sat beside each other. The pair broke one another's gazes to stare back at their peers, not that their eyes met at the same place. They seemed to be looking at them slightly northward in the air above them.

Glancing at one another uncomfortably Tyson and Hilary decided to look up to see their linked hands. At the sight both let go and jumped farther apart then what they had been.

Tyson laughed nervously, "Oh um… sorry about that Hilary, don't know when that happened."

Sensing the forced behaviour, to a slight degree, in his laughter Hilary continued on with their plan. She pretended to shrug, "That's okay Tyson… you can call me Hil by the way."

"Really...?" Tyson asked in a doubtful manner.

"Of course," she told him with a smile, "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Totally," Tyson sighed dreamily, "Uh… I mean yes, yes we are. We're great friends." Hilary's smile grew as she forced herself not to laugh at his somewhat pathetic attempt at being head over heels.

"Alright then…," Miss Kincaid said slowly picking up the handcuffs from off her desk. Her two students walked over without a sense of sadness and held out their respected hands. Fixing her glasses slightly their teacher looked at them in a studious manner. "Hmm…," she thought to herself unconsciously out loud.

"Excuse me, Miss Kincaid?" Tyson spoke up politely, "Not to sound too rude, but could you please link me and Hilary together?" At this point he looked over to the brunette so he could give her a soft smile, "Oops… I mean Hil."

"What in the name of…?" came in outburst. Everyone in the room turned to look at Kenny in what used to be Hilary's seat. With the reaction the brown haired boy looked down to his desktop with a weak smile, "Oh… I uh mean… carry on."

Miss Kincaid turned back to Hilary and Tyson; she finally decided to lock them together. But this time instead of seeing terror and anger towards each other she saw content between the two. That could only mean one thing….

"Could you two take your seats, I would like to start class," Miss Kincaid dismissed the smiling pair to the back of the room.

"Yes Miss Kincaid," Hilary nodded before the two went on their way.

As Tyson followed his girlfriend he decided to remark on the situation. "Hey Hil, those handcuffs really bring out the sparkle in your eyes," he told her, making sure his voice was loud enough for some of the other students to hear.

Hilary had to try quite hard to stifle the urge to roll her eyes. But that thought on command soon vanished when she noticed her classmates began to whisper and sneak glances at them as they reached their desks.

"Not that they need the help…," Tyson smiled for around the millionth time as he sat down, "I mean that has got to be the most magnificent ruby I've ever seen." He stopped musing to lean into his hand as he continued to look at Hilary.

She had to admit… Tyson could pretend to be in love to an obvious degree very well. But she was able to tell he was trying not to laugh, she knew him a little too well.

"Um… excuse me, class?" Miss Kincaid sighed seeing that all of her students were peering over their shoulders to see the pair, "Eyes up front please." After that it took a few moments for most of the class to turn their attention away. "Take out your science binders to copy a note…."

Hilary unzipped her backpack and pulled out her science books, one at a time, with her free hand; once organized she glanced beside her to see Tyson still staring at her. He had remained leaning into his hand and gave her a subtle wink to irk her, which had worked. Pushing Tyson in arm closest to her playfully she had actually achieved to make him also retrieve his books.

Miss Kincaid had started the note on the chalkboard, but her mind was focused on the two who were always the main lead in the class. She couldn't exactly place what they were doing yet a suspicious, nagging feeling told her it was a sham. A drastic change overnight was impossible, even for the mood swing twins.

They were playing her plan as a game… something she knew they would do. They were all too stubborn to be known as the only losers. And a compiling group of students in her class did not seem to be fond of it either.

A group of four students were talking amongst each other soon after Miss Kincaid had again faced towards the board. They made a square near the center of the room, two people per two rows. All had exchanged both opinions and glances to the back corner of the room. A final look was spared to the person who sat behind one boy of the group.

This same boy nodded to his three accomplices before turning to face the person he had looked at. "Hey Kenny," the boy smiled in a friendly manner.

Kenny, the person, met the boy's eyes reluctantly and sort of surprised since he never once spoke to him before. "Uh… hey you," he greeted with a small wave.

"How's it going?" the boy continued.

"Um… good," Kenny said as he wrote down what was on the board into his notes, "How about you…?"

"Great, great," his classmate nodded before segueing into what he truly wanted. "Hey, uh listen, we were wondering," he told Kenny jabbing his thumb over his shoulder to one girl and two other boys who made up the group, "What's up with them?"

Kenny followed the boy's nod to Tyson and Hilary writing down what he was supposed to as well. Well Hilary had been; Tyson looked like he lost his focus. His face was expressing annoyance or that he was extremely uncomfortable and he was biting his lip.

Shrugging, Kenny turned back to the boy and his friends. "A rare case of Hay Fever?" he joked truly not knowing.

The boy's friendly demeanour had vanished and he had slammed his fist hard on Kenny's desk with anger. His friends had followed through with cracking their knuckles threateningly in unison. Looking around to see people's reaction at their sudden behaviour, Kenny was amazed to see that nobody noticed.

Grabbing his tie to get his attention, the boy frowned not impressed. "Listen," he stated, "They're up to something, and we're dead set on winning."

"W-what if you lose…?" Kenny asked.

"Let's not talk about that yet," the boy chuckled waving his hand freely, "If you truly don't know what is going on… then help us figure it out."

"A-and… what if I don't?" Kenny shifted slightly, he wasn't too sure if he truly wanted to know.

Smiling somewhat secretly he answered, "Let's just say… it's not in your best interest."

"But they're my friends," Kenny decided.

"Wouldn't they tell you what was going on – if it's real or a charade – if you were _real _friends?" the boy attempted to persuade, slathering on sympathy to his voice.

"Well yeah…," Kenny paused, "… But still…."

Again the three had cracked their knuckles in unison.

"… What a bunch of jerks," Kenny held his hands up in defence, "I guess you can count me in…. But what does happen if they win?"

"You just better hope they don't," the boy smirked darkly as he turned around to face the front, "Or Dizzi will be even better acquainted with the delete button then she already is…." Kenny had just gulped in fear.

Miss Kincaid merely sighed to herself; she had overheard their whole conversation. But kids will be kids; she was mostly waiting for Tyson and Hilary to break out in an argument over a re-occurring situation. So far, to her surprise, they had been abnormally creepy nice to one another.

Hilary on the other hand had only semi-seen the conversation between Kenny and the boy and not heard. She was busy with copying down the note which she was currently continuing. That is until she noticed Tyson was drumming his fingers on his desk with a quickened pace, causing her to stop.

Glancing to her curiously, he turned hopeful, "Are you done?"

"No," she shook her head, "I was just wondering what you were doing… let me guess, the hand incident?"

Tyson nodded in disappointment, "Yeah… sorry Hil, it's just annoying…."

Hilary smiled at his sincere kindness that sometimes felt so out of character for him when it came to her. She then tapped her fingers on her desk for a moment in thought for a solution, "Well since when you write it doesn't affect me, how about I just copy the notes later from yours?"

"That's a great idea, it's just…," Tyson said somewhat apologetically revealing his notes to her. She sighed as her smile actually grew seeing that a majority of the paper was filled with pictures rather than words. "We can do that tomorrow?" he offered shortly after seeing that he wasn't going to be scorned like some sort of child.

"Alright," Hilary agreed, "But until then…?"

Tyson picked up his pen with his right hand so he could twirl it around in thought. Bringing it to his chin a couple times he had smiled when actually thinking of something.

"Go ahead and write," he told her.

Hilary stared at him sceptically, "But… nothing's changed."

"I got it covered," he assured her. So Hilary took his word and went back to writing down the extremely long science note. Tyson had brought his hand over to rest on her same hand that was copying down words.

She glanced over to him somewhat surprised by the action, "I guess you do."

Tyson had yet again smiled and squeezed her hand in agreement. He also leaned closer to her so that he could whisper in her ear, "Well love, I think we made quite the impression."

"The real test is at lunch," Hilary stated plainly, "And no love."

"Don't lie, I can see it in your eyes," Tyson frowned as he still spoke softly by her ear. Rolling her eyes, Hilary had turned to look at Tyson when she had fully realized their closeness. The only time they were ever this close was when they were screaming at one another, never when talking civilly. "And again may I say what a beautiful ruby they are."

"Uh… thanks," Hilary said awkwardly, inwardly she cursed his smooth behaviour in some instances where he could take things to his advantage, for instance, a small, stupid game like this.

Miss Kincaid had at some point turned around to see this scene. At first she thought they were at the beginning of a fight, the quiet stage. Then she realized both were somewhat smiling and staring at one another with yet again a case of content. It was starting to scare her….

"Good thing lunch is soon," she overheard the boy who had been talking to Kenny say. "Gossip is the main theme, so we'll hear quite a bit about… them. Plus we now have a detective to watch… them."

His three friends nodded in agreement. One of the other boys frowned, "Yeah, look at… them. That is so not real."

The only other boy nodded again, "So you think our detective can get the dirt on… them?"

"Why do you keep saying… them?" the girl asked.

The first boy shrugged, "It sounds cooler…."

"Oh, I get it," the girl stated.

The first boy had again turned around to face Kenny in a friendly manner, but it backfired. The brown haired boy jumped in fear and shielded himself with his arms. "I didn't do anything!"

"Relax," the boy sighed, "Meet us in the far corner of the cafeteria at lunch for information on your first mission. Make sure no one, and I mean nobody, follows you, especially not… them."

"Them?" Kenny questioned.

The girl gasped, "He didn't say it suspenseful!"

"It's okay," the boy told her, "We'll let it go… this time."

"S-sorry, t-thank you," Kenny smiled nervously.

"Far corner, cafeteria, lunch, today, you, us, information," the boy stated making sure everything was clear, "Got it?" Kenny nodded frantically. Smiling cynically the boy grasped Kenny's hand in a handshake, "Pleasure doing business with you, Detective."

**A/N: **Well, they you go, I hope that ties you over for possibly over a week. Reviews would be nice, tell me how I'm doing, I appreciate any input. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 6: The Chief Detective

**A/N**: Well, I decided to update as a celebration that two big school projects are finished! Now I have exams on the way… and we all know what that means, a sarcastic yay amongst students. Anyways, onto the thanks for the reviews! Thank you to **amylovestakuya**, **Sakura Mizuki**, **Apple**, **.w.a.t.e.r.m.i.r.a.l**., **allie oops**, **CucumberPickles**, **Thiaf**, **sugahprincess1** and **Tomoki-Element**! Oh wait… I forgot someone….

To **Shawn the Unfunny Joke**: Ah my dear brother I would thank you, like I do with my other reviewers, but I really can't. What I mean is, I can't thank you for reading, but I have to thank you for another reason. I've come to realize, as much as I hate it, you are an influence on me… you've introduced me to a lot of stuff I've come to love (even if our tastes are different). And you're the reason I'm pushed to do things, because I want to be as good as you. Writing was just like video games; you could always kick my butt… but admit it, I can surprise you. So thanks, not for reviewing but for pushing me to write in the first place….

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade… just that sappy spiel to my brother….

Chapter Six: The Chief Detective

Kenny twisted his head to the side somewhat, as it sat in the palm of one of his hands, to see the clock. Sadly for him there was a single minute left before lunch would begin, well it would for others anyways. The genius of the room had caught himself up with four troublesome peers who were suspicious of his best friends, so he was forced to become some sort of spy… or detective as they said.

Looking to his friends, he sighed in disappointment. He was hoping for some sort of fight to break out between them to wreck the show they created. If it was one, the Tyson he knew wouldn't be holding Hilary's hand….

"Unless," Kenny rubbed his chin in thought, "He's desperate."

The four who had "hired" him spared him a glance; they had overheard his mumbled theory. Shortly after that incident the bell rang signalling them to leave, but Kenny got his own message. The lead boy nudged his head, though it was more like a nod, in the general direction the cafeteria was in.

To catch up with the departing class Kenny nodded in acknowledgement before scrambling to his feet and quickly gathering his books into his backpack. Once ready to take after the four and not be late for his briefing he had heard his name called, causing him to cringe.

"Hey Kenny, wait up," Tyson had yelled from the back of the room. He was standing up casually waiting for Hilary to put all her books away so that they could leave.

"I-I… can't," he said shakily, he shifted somewhat to face their way but his head remained tilted down. Thinking about what would happen if he were to be late; Kenny kicked the ground in a worrisome manner.

"Why not?" Hilary asked slinging her backpack on one of her shoulders once she had stood up.

"I have to go…," Kenny said slowly, trying to think of something, "Uh… to the washroom…."

"Oh…," Tyson sort of said awkwardly, "Maybe you should take care of that then. Me and Hil will just meet up with you later then, alright?"

Kenny smiled before running out of the room, "Perfect!"

The pair watched him speed down the hallway for the staircase. "Boys sure can be strange," Hilary sighed looking to Tyson, though he just shrugged.

Kenny, on the other hand, was attempting to make it to the other side of the school in record time. And amazingly, the not-so-athletic boy made it to the cafeteria at a pretty good time, but he wasn't quite sure which corner of the room was the furthest.

Standing in the entrance of the room, Kenny began to contemplate on which direction to go. But residing in the busy area was a bad idea; he was pushed aside without much thought. He had nearly fallen to the ground because of the action, yet managed to hang onto his balance by throwing his arms out horizontally at his sides. His knees had also bent when trying not to fall, so in the end he looked like someone who was attempting to take off into flight.

A couple of weird looks were given to him as he regained his composure. Smoothing out his tie, he went out to find the farthest corner. He had a hunch it was the one that was diagonal from where he had entered, which would make sense if his math was correct. And most likely it was.

Kenny decided to walk fully around the room by following the walls instead of cutting across. This way people wouldn't exactly see right away where he was going, plus it would not catch as many people's eyes. Even though he kept glancing over his shoulder to see if he had any stalkers, which made him look somewhat suspicious.

"So you came," a boy had said at one of the times Kenny was peering over his shoulder. Jumping, the suspicious brunette spun around to see he had reached his destination and had nearly ran into the leader. "Good choice."

Kenny nodded, "Yeah… what's the information?"

"We're going to make this quick, before some people start noticing us," the boy continued. "You're going to need some equipment…."

This caught his attention, "A machine?"

"A microphone," another boy stated, "Built right into this tie." He waved his hand to the girl who held a bland black tie.

"Not to mention a camera," the girl smiled.

"Really…?" Kenny questioned sceptically taking the tie from the girl to hold it in his own hands. "How did you get this technology… did you make this?" He wasn't aware there were other kids in his class who could build such creations in a couple days so effectively.

"Of course not," the leader had smiled, a little too sweetly, "You're the only kid smart enough to do that in our grade level."

Kenny sensed that he wanted something, "Thanks…."

"We got it out of this spy magazine," the second boy further explained as Kenny had unclipped his own regular green tie. This made the boy frown, "Can't you tie ties?"

"Uh… no," Kenny shook his head, "Why?"

The girl sighed, "Because that one's not a clip on."

Lifting up the tie to his eye level, he sighed finally noticing that she was indeed right. "I assume that neither of you know then, right?" he asked.

The four shook their heads. "Can't you tie it like shoe laces?" the girl wondered hopefully.

"Then it would be in a bow," Kenny pointed out.

"Do you know anyone who could help?" the leader wondered.

"I think Hilary may know how to," Kenny shrugged, "Hey, yeah she does! So… can't you guys tell me how it works now and she'll just do it for me?"

"Plus that's how he'll join them!" the girl agreed clapping her hands together in glee.

The three boys nodded. "Okay," the first boy smiled, "The microphone is already on, it picks up pretty good so don't worry about getting extremely close to them. The camera works like this, it's located in the bottom of the front part of the tie, if you want to take a picture pull the smaller back part. But it won't do too good close up if you don't hold it up, do you better keep it for long distances. Got it so far?"

Kenny nodded back, "Yep."

"Eye piece," the leader stated, immediately he was handed a clip, "This goes over one of your glasses' lenses, it will let you see what you'll be taking as your picture. To activate it, tap it once. It's the same to deactivate it."

Taking the clip and putting on to one of his lenses, he asked, "Is that all?"

"One more thing," the boy said handing him an ear piece, "This is so we can talk to you, easy as said."

Putting the item into place, Kenny gave a faint smile. "I'll do my best, but I'm not going to betray my friends' trust," he told them.

"Understood," the leader shrugged, "We won't mention your involvement. We don't tell anyone of our sources anyways, detective."

Kenny sighed, "I guess we'll meet up later."

"Indeed," the group stated.

So the detective went on his way to find his friends, which wasn't a hard task. They were sitting on their own, side by side obviously, eating their lunches in what seemed like peace. Shaking his head at their oddness, he approached them.

"Hey Kenny," Tyson greeted with a mouthful; earning him a small glare on Hilary's behalf. Thankful for the sign of normality, Kenny smiled at his friends, "You kind of look different."

This caused his smile to vanish and Kenny looked around in a state of nervousness. "Why?" he questioned frantically.

"You're not wearing a tie," Tyson said before giving him a strange look, "Relax, what are you bugged?"

Kenny gulped before giving a weak laugh, "Good one."

"Where is your tie?" Hilary asked curiously.

Kenny held up his hand that was still gripping the spy equipment. "Uh… it came undone; guess it was too loose?" he offered weakly, "I was kind of wondering if you could give me a hand?"

"Sure," Hilary told him reaching to grab the tie and help her friend out when realizing the extra weight. Frowning, she turned to Tyson, "A little help?"

"Ugh… sure," Tyson sighed holding his hand up so that she could move her own better, "So why can't you do this, Chief?"

"I don't know how to," Kenny explained.

"Seriously…?" Tyson asked incredulously.

"Do you?" Hilary questioned sparing him a glance of curiosity.

Tyson smiled, "Why do I have do it, when you can do it for me?"

"Uh huh," Kenny said looking at Hilary; he didn't exactly feel comfortable when his friend was in this sort of state.

"Well, there you go," Hilary told him after she completed tying. She sat back down beside Tyson; who let his arm rest again down on the surface of the table.

"Thanks Hilary," Kenny smiled genuinely as he gave her a small nod. The brunette sat down across from his two friends, he studied both of them for a few moments.

Tyson was acting pretty normal, if he didn't count the semi-uncharacteristic comment to Hilary a few seconds before, this lunch time. The capped boy was shovelling a wide variety of cafeteria based foods into his mouth, probably not even taking into account what exactly the school used to serve as food. He didn't even seem to notice his surroundings, an aspect of the boy which only applied to him when it came to delicacies.

Unlike Tyson, Kenny also observed that Hilary was not as normal as her counterpart. She was shuffling her packed lunch salad with a fork that lied within the grasp of her left hand. Like noted before, Hilary was right handed. Therefore Kenny knew that this was because she was having difficulty. His thoughts were confirmed when Hilary just dropped the fork into the container after one final, hopeful, push.

Sparing her a glance, Tyson looked to her thoughtfully for a moment as he finished chewing carefully. Licking his lips then proceeding to wipe his mouth, he questioned, "Not hungry or something?"

Kenny sighed shaking his head while Hilary just gave him a glare. A puzzled expression came over Tyson as he looked back and forth between his two friends awaiting an answer.

"Just never mind," Hilary told him dismissively.

Tyson took that as a yes to his question, so it only made sense for him to reach towards Hilary's home packed dessert; a pudding cup. But his action had only earned him a slap in the hand as a scolding. He looked to Hilary in dismay.

"What was that for?" he frowned returning his hand to his side, "You're not hungry, why can't I have it?"

"I never said that," Hilary stated.

"It was implied," Tyson said.

"Therefore it was an assumption," Hilary smiled.

"Therefore you're evil from depriving me of pudding goodness for your own personal gain," Tyson sighed hopelessly, resting his head on the table in a pouting manner.

Hilary rolled her eyes, "That's not working…."

Kenny leaned into his hand looking to his two friends who were arguing in an actual friendly way. He didn't even know that was possible, but there they were.

"See, they're true colours have shown through!" a statement had declared suddenly within Kenny's ear. He jumped somewhat, thankfully not gaining Tyson or Hilary's attention, having somewhat forgotten about the device. "Are you going to do something… or what? Here's an ideal moment; an argument!"

"It's not really an argument," Kenny stated out loud, causing the pair to stare at him strangely. He gulped realizing his mistake to talk to the voices in his head; that really wasn't a good thing to do in any case.

"What?" Tyson asked.

"Uh… that's not an argument, right?" he pointed with hope that where he was questioning would make sense.

Tyson frowned looking in the direction, "Yeah, they seem swell Chief…. I'm sure the lunch ladies can handle themselves, maybe you shouldn't worry so much."

Kenny laughed nervously, "Maybe…."

"Good job," muttered another voice through the device.

"Listen guys…," Kenny began, folding his hands together in front of him, "I know you're secret."

Immediately two pairs of eyes shot up at him once they had strayed to one another; both had expressions conveyed by seriousness.

Tyson sighed talking first, "Do you?"

Kenny nodded, "Yeah."

He glanced to Hilary in a meaningful way before looking back to one of his best friends. "So… when did you figure itout?" he asked in disappointment and possibly a hint of guilt.

"Well… right away, I suppose," Kenny said.

"I guess that's probably my fault… I'm a horrible actor," Tyson shrugged before again looking to Hilary. All the while, she was staring at him in shock on how he was giving in without a fight. "You know Chief, I'm really sorry we didn't tell you…."

Kenny smiled somewhat, "That's alright, I understand."

"I guess we just wanted this whole… situation to be kept secret," Tyson smiled somewhat, giving back his handcuffed partner her stare. "I guess… I guess I just can't hide how I feel about you Hil."

Kenny's jaw dropped, "What?"

Hilary's bewildered expression to his supposed confession had vanished upon hearing his trickery of the situation. Instead she smiled as Tyson rested his hand on top of hers.

The boy gave her yet another wink as well before turning to Kenny. "Oh… uh that wasn't the secret you know?" he questioned surprised, "Boy, I didn't know I had more than one secret."

"Uh… never mind," Kenny told them.

"Well, if you say so," Tyson said before suggesting, "You don't look so good Chief; maybe you should go get a drink of water."

"Good idea," Kenny nodded before standing up from his seat, "I'll be back soon." Tyson and Hilary nodded as well watching him leave for a moment, so that they knew he was out of hearing range.

Of course if they had followed his departure they would've noticed he was not following through with the suggestion. He decided to look on from a far to see if their behaviour was any different. Unfortunately he had to go by instinct and sight because he couldn't read lips.

Tyson ran his free hand through his navy hair, "That was close…. I made you nervous, didn't I?" He grinned seeing her scowl, "I don't give up easy, especially at such a lame way in getting us to talk."

"Why would he try to get us to talk?" Hilary asked.

"I told you… he's our closest friend," Tyson stated, "Of course the kids in our class want to win by exploiting our ways of winning and snapping them into our faults they would. I mean… I would."

Hilary frowned, "I don't want to think that Kenny would do something like that."

"Hey, I don't either," Tyson said shrugging, "But I'm sure he has his reasons though."

"So we have to further persuade these people we're dating," Hilary contemplated to herself, though Tyson had soon after answered her.

"If we want to win," he sighed, "And we do."

Hilary closed her eyes briefly before inhaling a deep breath. She turned to Tyson, "How badly?"

"Well I don't know," Tyson told her sarcastically, "Let's say… badly."

"Then… kiss me," she decided.

Tyson stared at her in a state of shock, but she could identify an underline characteristic that resembled panic. He was hoping that he could've possibly of misheard her solution to their problem. While he gawked at her not being able to comprehend the female at the moment, Hilary stared back awaiting some type of intelligent response.

"Please tell me you said kick me," Tyson gulped.

"Yes Tyson, that's exactly what I said…. Could you please kick me? I'm sure that will just prove how much we love one another," Hilary told him, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Well… well you're way isn't going to help much either," Tyson attempted to reason with her.

"Uh huh," Hilary sighed, "I must be crazy… I mean imagine, people kissing while dating."

Tyson flailed his arms somewhat at his sides, "I see you're point, okay? It's just… no; it doesn't have to come down to this. This, Hilary, this is insane!"

Hilary frowned, "Will you calm down please, people are starting to stare… and it seems like we're fighting."

"Well we're at different spots in the relationship now, aren't we?" Tyson shot back deciding to hush his volume in the conversation.

"Tyson, it's not like we're deciding to get married," Hilary said trying to sway his refusal, "What's so bad about one little kiss?"

Tyson's mouth hung open from when he was about to comment, but it seemed he forgot the ability to speak. He gawked at the brunette again, unable to decipher how he was supposed to win this. After around the eighth time of opening and closing his mouth to her question, and sadly Hilary had counted, she decided to continue.

"Is this about your ego?" Hilary wondered curiously.

Tyson decided to give intelligent remark, "Huh…?"

"Is it because you want to be the one to kiss me first but you're too scared?" Hilary asked wearing a smirk.

His face darkened, "Scared?"

"You are, aren't you?" Hilary grinned suddenly before poking him accusingly, yet playfully, in the chest.

"I am not!" Tyson snapped.

Hilary laughed, "Relax, okay?" Seeing that his glare had not faltered, she chose to call him on his statement. "Prove it then, kiss me."

It was Tyson's turn to smirk, "In your dreams."

"We've been through this before…," Hilary told him plainly, before adding, "Scared-y Cat."

"I am not," Tyson repeated, and before Hilary could reply he had cut her off, "And I know, prove it." Rolling his eyes, he sat there in silence for a few moments, "Fine… just give me a second."

"However long you need," Hilary stated.

"Not me," Tyson shook his head, "It's for them."

"Again with them," Hilary sighed.

"Hey, it can't look like it's forced," Tyson shrugged.

Hilary smiled somewhat, "Too bad it was."

Tyson merely ignored that as he held his head with one of his hands. Closing his eyes he took a few deep breaths trying to calm down before he followed through with something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He certainly didn't want to follow through with this….

"What _are_ you doing?" Hilary inquired.

Opening one of his eyes, he spared her a glance that accompanied a slight scowl. "Well I was going to have an inner fight with myself over how I feel about you until you interrupted," he explained.

"Why…? Oh wait, don't tell me, because of them," Hilary frowned at his weird ways, "What are they, psychic?"

"You never know," he pointed out returning to his prior position with both eyes closed, "I guess I decided I don't like you…."

"Well that's new," Hilary shook her head.

Tyson turned to face her as he opened his eyes. "You're a very aggravating person, you know that?" he asked her, though she chose not to answer.

Hilary merely stared at him as he did the same, but his level of concentration was quite intense. At first it made her slightly wary; never had she seen him focused like this. It was a degree of him being deep in thought and still being slightly reluctant.

She was pretty sure Tyson was going to kiss her, even if it was through not really wanting to plus any other reason he had not to, but for some reason he wouldn't. Hilary had even pin pointed it to fear, and she could almost see a spark of it in his eyes, but of course he didn't get scared. Questioning what exactly this boy did had crossed her mind, but she mentally shrugged it off.

Tyson wasn't going to make a move, even if he wanted to with every piece of his will. Smiling at this, Hilary came to a conclusion. He was terrified of her at this moment. And as much as she loved that factor, she was sick of his reluctance to the situation. So Hilary decided it was her turn.

Smiling sweetly, much to Tyson's unawareness, she brought her left hand to hold his chin. Staring at her quizzically from not quite understanding, she tilted his head down with the use of her thumb before pressing her lips to his softly and also with slight reluctance. Tyson didn't freeze from the touch that hadn't exactly been subtle; he just managed to remain puzzled. His mind wasn't even able to register the sensation before Hilary pulled away.

Again it seemed they fell into a staring contest, but nervousness rested on Hilary as Tyson seemed to be stuck in a daze. Her eyes slowly fell to the floor by her side; she was unable to take his gaze anymore since it tended to stay the same.

"Hilary…," Tyson said finally, almost as if caressing her name sweetly before continuing, "Did you not hear me? I was going to kiss you!"

Turning her attention to him again, she scoffed wearing a smile. "And that was going great… if we had a year or so, but we didn't."

"Yeah right," Tyson rolled his eyes, "You just couldn't resist…."

Kenny stared blankly at his two friends from his same spot. Slapping himself in the face, he fell out of his trance. He wasn't sure if he saw what he thought he saw. Suddenly he remembered something, "Ow… I shouldn't do that…." He mended his wound with his hand.

"What happened?" a voice asked Kenny on the other end of the device, obviously they didn't see the scene.

Making a face of disgust, he answered, "Let's just say I don't need to know how to read lips to know what that meant…."

"Let's just say go continue your job," someone else said, though he could identify this person as their leader.

Kenny sighed approaching his friends again; they had been discussing something until they noticed him. He found this odd since they believed he was aware of their 'secret' and they didn't really cover up conversations they had together.

"Can I join you?" Kenny asked rhetorically before sitting down. The pair glanced to one another a final time as they turned to face him. Forcing a smile, he continued, "Cute."

Tyson rolled his eyes reaching for the pudding cup again, "That's what I said." This earned him a smack in the side, but he was still able to gain the chocolate dessert through the slight pain. Opening it up and then grabbing an unused spoon from his lunch, he smiled.

"Whatever makes you happy," Hilary muttered with yet another roll of the eyes.

"Good," Tyson grinned scooping up some pudding into the plastic utensil. She watched him as he brought the dessert towards her instead of straight into his mouth. "You're not going to make me do train noises, are you?"

Smiling, she allowed Tyson to feed her much to his willingness. Between scoops she continued, "I guess I'll spare you this time."

If anyone could see Kenny's eyes at the moment, they would've seen a significant trace of horror within them because of the sickly cute scene. Though there was something else about it that bothered him, there was some sort of difference between them. But for the life of him he couldn't exactly place it.

All he had was a hunch; an instinct that told him that within his absence at the table something changed. And it mainly focused on Tyson, who was continuing to feed Hilary wearing a smile, and it lied in his eyes. Maybe this was all a sham, but nothing he could come up with would explain the newly infused spark that lit up Tyson's eyes in a subtle manner.

Kenny rubbed his chin in wonderment, just how subtle was this to Tyson?

**A/N**: Well there you go a little Ty/Hil development. There might be a small delay with the next chapter… but it's because school is ending and they like to rush through the last couple weeks! So you know… don't forget to review, thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 7: When In Doubt, Stalk

**A/N:** One month later… sorry about that by the way, but here's the seventh chapter finally. Updates will probably happen more often now since school is done and I have more time to write. Anyways, thank you to **.w.a.t.e.r.m.i.r.a.l.**, **sword hunter oblivion**, **sugahprincess1**, **Psicosis Reflection**, **Thiaf**, **Stewey-The insane one**, **dbzgtfan2004**, **Majestic Evil**, **CucumberPickles**, **darkheart1992**, **Musee.Picasso** and **LoveStories**.

Oh and a question came up concerning the four kids and their names. They honestly don't have any for a couple reasons. Firstly, it would seem like I had spent hours coming up with personalities and such, I feel, if I gave them names. So they're not really OC's of mine, I don't really have any, more like random people in their class. I was actually trying to play at the fact that we never know anyone else in Miss Kincaid's class rather than Tyson, Hilary and Kenny, but you know…. And lastly, I suppose I was using something I learned in English class this year, that when someone doesn't have a name assume they can be anyone. I hope that answered any questions.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own quite a few things… to name a few Beyblade, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and NAFTA (if anyone cares).

Chapter Seven: When In Doubt, Stalk

"Aww, isn't it perfect?" Tyson squealed like a little school girl as he ogled the tally chart at the far end of the board. He grinned at the small, single line under his and Hilary's name. "One of the happiest days of my life Hil, come see our little miracle."

Hilary spared him a glance as she rubbed her newly freed wrist for the day. She raised a single eyebrow at his eagerness over a line in white stalk.

Tyson, who had been kneeling up close to the chalkboard, regained his composure before approaching the brunette. "I think he looks like a Chris," he offered giving a soft smile, pulling his eyes away from the chart to look at Hilary.

Miss Kincaid looked at her final two students within her classroom at the end of the day. The plan, which she had thought turned dire, had made a successful turn for the best. Unbelievably, Tyson and Hilary won Wednesday ruining the chances of a humiliating defeat on their part. Or… possibly prolonging their suffering.

She had figured out what they were doing though, it had actually been quite clever. They were not dating; two people cannot fall in love so abruptly, not even them, in a single day… especially not under circumstances like this.

But then again… there was a small part of her that went against that theory. What if they were dating? She would've caused more trouble than what she had in the beginning. That is because there is only one thing worse than two people bickering that don't get along… those same two people having lovers' quarrels.

Miss Kincaid shuddered…. Fear was again settling in.

"Tyson, it's a mark," Hilary stated after a moment, causing their teacher to jump slightly after forgetting they were still in the room.

The navy haired boy looked thoughtfully at the brunette for a moment before he decided to sling his arm around her shoulders loosely. "I see you're point," he told her, she smiled at her success of getting through his weirdness, before he continued; "It is Marcus Christopher Granger."

Hilary's smile then faded, "You're kidding me?"

"No… why exactly?" Tyson asked.

She decided to sigh, turning her attention away from the boy she saw Miss Kincaid. "Uh… Miss, are you cold?" she questioned confused.

Miss Kincaid met Hilary's ruby gaze nervously. "No…. I mean yes! Yes it is cold! Brr!" she stammered.

"That's weird," Tyson said under his breath looking at the clock. "Guess we should head out," he stated removing his arm from around Hilary, "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Thanks," Hilary smiled, "Goodbye Miss Kincaid."

"See you tomorrow kids," she told them as they headed out the door, then with a sigh she said, "Thank God…."

As the pair walked down the hallway towards the staircase Hilary looked around. "Uh… shouldn't we look for Kenny or something? He should be around here somewhere," she asked Tyson.

"He's probably gone by now," he shrugged.

"You think?" Hilary wondered.

"Often," he smiled, "Now let me carry those books for you."

Hilary frowned, "I'm not carrying any books…."

"I know," Tyson stated, "It just seems like a gentleman-like thing to say."

Hilary rolled her eyes seeing what she had to put up with for the walk home, "So… we're not waiting up for Kenny?"

**XxxxX**

"They'll get suspicious," Kenny sighed; outside in the schoolyard he was accompanied by the same group of four kids he had been associated with all day. "They always wait for me after school… it's like a significant law of our friendship."

The leader ran a hand through his hair out of annoyance. Their detective kept giving him excuse after excuse with a hint of urgency in his voice. "Listen, I hate to break your dreams of bunnies and flowers when it comes to your friends, but you know… they seem to have another kind of relationship between them," he shrugged.

The sole girl sobbed, "Seeing how we lost today…."

"Yeah," the other two boys agreed solemnly.

"But you're… we're… still winning," Kenny offered.

"Not without a doubt though," the leader argued, "We wanted a pure win, to prove they don't have a chance."

Kenny paused for a few seconds, "Why do you care…?"

The leader's eyes blazed with an inferno as he pumped a fist high into the air, declaring, "Because!"

"Because…?" Kenny leaned forward in awe.

"I haven't got that far," the leader smiled sheepishly as he returned his arm back to his side, "But it had been important… now it's revenge time."

"Or Re-Time for short," the girl smiled.

"Why would you shorten revenge time… it's not like it's a super long expression like the North American Free Trade Agreement or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?" Kenny frowned.

Tears started to form in the girl's eyes, "Why are you so mean to me?"

The three boys of the gang glared at him, causing him to gulp nervously. "S-sorry," Kenny stumbled, "Re-Time it is!"

"Yay!" the girl cheered.

"So I heard one of your early theories," the leader stated.

Kenny turned his attention to him sceptically, "I had early theories?"

"Something about Tyson being desperate," the leader said in hopes that it would spark a memory, before he added, "Which I might say, I don't agree with. Hilary is quite the stunning gal, if you know what I mean?"

"Ooh, Boss likes Hilary!" one of the boys sang.

"Two leaders choosing to guide their people rather than admit their true feelings," the other boy stated.

The girl swooned, "Aww!"

"I doubt it…," Kenny mumbled.

"What?" the leader fumed.

"I said… move over Tyson," Kenny scratched his head as he smiled sheepishly.

The leader then shrugged, "I was just saying she's a pretty girl, you don't have to be desperate to go out with her."

"Okay…," Kenny said trying to get out of the conversation, "I didn't mean desperate in the sense of him dating Hilary. I meant desperate as for the reason in which they are dating."

The leader looked puzzled, "I don't follow."

Kenny re-phrased, "It's a sham. They want to win, so they pretend to date. People who date, should, tend to get along with one another, therefore it being the perfect cover."

"But… they kissed," the girl stated.

"Believe me, I saw," Kenny groaned.

"Well that doesn't make any sense," a boy said.

"I guess they wanted to make it look real," Kenny guessed with a shrug.

The leader frowned, "I thought they hated each other though… why would two people who hate each other's guts kiss just for the sake of winning?"

"I don't know, why would a group of four kids threaten me into spying on my best friends?" Kenny inquired.

The leader merely rolled his eyes, "Just answer the question."

"First of all, they don't hate each other's guts. As hard as it is to tell, they're really good friends. I mean, one time, when Hilary and I were kidnapped, he barely even noticed me," Kenny explained, and then a frown had appeared on his face.

"What?" the leader questioned.

"I just realized something," Kenny scowled, "He never really pays attention to me. He's usually either attempting to make Kai show an expression, laughing it up with Max and Ray or talking and/or fighting with Hilary. What about me? What about Kenny!"

"Um… there, there," the leader patted him on the back, "So what do you suppose we do?"

Kenny took a deep breath, calming himself down, before stating, "I thought that was your job."

The leader seemed to have thought it over before nodding. "Right… well I think we should give them another taste of victory," he smirked evilly.

"Uh… why; what happened to the pure win, it can still be pretty pure?" Kenny wondered curiously.

"That dream… is gone," the leader said with a hint of mourning in his voice, "Now to honour it, we must devastate Tyson and Hilary by bringing them closer to victory. And when they're on that red carpet heading for the stage that says 'Winner' in flashy lights, we'll tear it from under their feet…. Then what will they say?"

"Ouch?" Kenny guessed.

The leader merely smiled, "Indeed."

"So, what I got from that was you want them to win tomorrow so you can hurt them more," Kenny summarized.

The four kids nodded, "Yep."

"Well… how are you going to guarantee a win for Friday?" Kenny inquired, not knowing if they thought the whole situation through.

"It all starts at the end of the class on Thursday," one of the other boys stated, "That's all you need to know."

"So… you're taking care of that," Kenny assumed, "But what's my mission?"

"Simple," the leader answered with a smile, "You're a scientist; you naturally have to prove your hypothesis through a procedure. And a major part of procedures need observations. So… go watch how your specimens react when they believe no one's watching them."

"Stalking… great," Kenny frowned, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "But how am I supposed to do that if they're waiting for me? They'll think something went wrong!"

Smacking himself in the face in an irritated sense, the leader scowled. "Dude, for the millionth time, they're not waiting for you," he told him pointing in the direction behind Kenny, "They left like ten minutes ago that way. They seemed pretty content…."

Kenny stared blankly at the four kids for a couple seconds before turning to look at the direction which had been pointed at. Raising a fist into the air, the boy cried, "What about Kenny?"

**XxxxX**

"Did you hear something?" Tyson frowned exchanging a glance with Hilary. Shaking her head, he sighed, "I guess I'm just hearing things…."

Hilary shrugged, "So… why are you walking me home?"

"Is it against the law?" he rolled his eyes.

She again shook her head, "It's just weird."

"And everything this week's been normal?" Tyson retorted, "I say, as long as it's legal."

Hilary just sighed as the pair turned to walk onto her lawn, cutting through the front yard to reach the house. Tyson waited patiently as Hilary found her house key within her backpack and opened the door.

"No one home?" he asked walking inside, finding himself smile at the familiarity of the place.

"No," Hilary said sarcastically, "We just like to use the keys when the house is full of people." Tyson opened his mouth to remark when a sound cut him off; instead he let out a yelp and slightly jumped. "Calm down Tyson, it's just the phone," she told him before shoving her backpack into his grasp, "Here, be a gentleman and put this in my room, would you?"

Frowning, the capped boy shrugged, "Sure."

"Thanks, it's the-" Hilary started.

"I know," Tyson interrupted with a wave of the hand as he began to climb the stairs, "You act like I've never been here before…."

Hilary left to answer the phone, mumbling to herself, "It has been four years."

Tyson had not heard her though, mostly because he thought it would've been an insult so he chose to ignore. Making it to his destination, which had not been far from the top of the stairs, he frowned. "How stupid does she think I am that I couldn't have found a door with her name on it?"

Turning the door knob to enter the room he was bombarded with yellow. Raising an eyebrow at the bright and cheery colours, he came to a conclusion. It could've been worse, it could've been pink. He walked slowly into the room as if waiting for something to pop up, thankfully nothing did.

He made it across the room to set the backpack on her bed. All the while he looked around in awe at how spotless the room was; it was severely neat. Seeing as he was pretty sure nothing in the room was going to scare him, he wasn't even too sure why he thought something would, but he decided to look around.

It didn't take long until something caught his eye. Walking over to a desk out of curiosity he had noticed an out of place binder. Running his fingers over the smooth, black felt cover he soon traced the lining of neat, gold plated cursive writing.

"Memories," Tyson read out loud, "Must be a family photo album."

Grinning, the capped boy picked it up thinking there would have to be some embarrassing pictures from when Hilary was a little girl. He retreated to go sit on her bed, but decided on otherwise. Tyson figured the bed was too girly and instead sat on the floor, using the bed as a backrest.

Opening up the album to the first page, the boy's face faltered. The grin had vanished; he had formed a small smile.

"What are you doing?" Hilary snapped, causing Tyson to jump. His gaze met hers as she towered over him, he had not realized her enter the room.

"Nothing," he told her quietly, his eyes casting down to the page again, "Just looking through your things."

She rolled her eyes at that, "At least you're honest."

Tyson's smile grew, "I remember when we did this…."

Hilary raised an eyebrow as she peered down to Tyson, who was pointing at the picture. She could not see it well from her position, so she chose to take a seat beside Tyson.

A smile graced her features as well once she was able to look at it. "Yeah… my mom demanded we take a picture for a memento," Hilary giggled.

"Blackmail purposes?" Tyson proposed.

She smirked, "Wouldn't doubt it."

"Parents," Tyson sighed, "But… I guess we were the weird ones?"

Hilary nodded in agreement, "I can't believe we got married…."

"Hey, we were in kindergarten, everyone was doing it," Tyson shrugged, "I just can't believe we got cake…."

"I think they were cupcakes actually…," Hilary stated.

He merely shrugged again before turning the page. "Am I… in all of these?" Tyson questioned flipping through the pages, taking a few seconds to look at each picture.

"Yes," Hilary said, "You _were_ my best friend, Tyson."

Tyson again met her eyes, only this time reluctantly out of guilt that it was probably his fault. Which truthfully made it worse, because the fact was that he wasn't too sure how they stopped hanging around one another until recently.

She pulled a smile, "Want to see my favourite picture?"

Tyson nodded as she flipped to the back of the book, revealing a sole picture with somewhat worn out corners. It was of him at a young age, one of his small arms was wrapped around his best friend's, Hilary, shoulders. Both of them were grinning like there was no tomorrow as they adorned the victory sign towards whoever had been taking the picture. The only thing you could make out in the background was a sloppily painted sign that Tyson assumed, by inserting missing letters that had been blocked, said congratulations.

Reading his expression, Hilary answered his silent question. "Grade four, you helped me win…," she had again began when Tyson interrupted her for the second time.

"Your first presidential classroom election," Tyson grinned, "I remember now! I made that sign."

"Too bad you misspelled congratulations though," she smiled contently, "For some reason you thought a 'j' was in there."

"Details, details," Tyson waved his hand, "You were really happy that day…. You nearly choked me with a hug when you won."

"More bittersweet now," she stated.

Tyson frowned, "How come?"

"We slowly stopped… being friends. I was busy with my position as president and keeping my promises and commitments to my peers, even at ten," Hilary explained wearing a weak smile, "And you were getting deeper and deeper into the world of Beyblade…. I just let you go, Tyson."

"We went our separate ways," Tyson concluded, his focus now on the picture with a hard gaze.

Hilary shrugged, "And I've won every election since…."

Tyson smirked, "Let me guess, to keep the memory of the last thing we ever did together alive?"

Silence.

"Really…?" he wondered.

She sighed, "Kind of… until you sort of changed."

"Changed?" Tyson questioned.

"With every win in that game of yours, you became more confident, more daring, mouthier, cockier," Hilary told him, "You weren't the same boy who I knew at five who pulled my braids in the middle of class to tell me something."

"Amusing how that list turned negative," Tyson pointed out, "But I wasn't the only one who changed."

Hilary turned to him sceptically, "Are you implying that I became a jerk?"

"When we were little you were smart, probably the smartest in the class. But once elected you added a taste of power to your smarts," Tyson said, "You became very… enthusiastic."

"And that's a bad thing?" Hilary ventured.

"When I say enthusiastic I mean loud and demanding," Tyson stated, earning him another smack, "Ow… but I guess it's a part of growing up."

She nodded, "Things change…."

"Including your attitude and who you hang out with," Tyson agreed turning to face her, "I'm glad events of the past brought us back together."

"You didn't seem too happy," Hilary reminded.

Tyson shrugged, "I did say glad…."

Glaring at him, Hilary pushed Tyson playfully, "Go away…."

Tyson laughed, "I guess I just never realized that we were being put back together again."

Hilary smiled taking the album from the navy haired boy. He watched as she stared at the lone picture for a few moments before reaching for it from under the safety of the plastic veil. Again Hilary looked at it with content, and then handed it to Tyson.

He was slightly confused by the gesture, "Why are you giving me your favourite picture?"

"Keep it," Hilary stated, "And that's a demand."

Giving his trademark smile, he wondered, "But why?"

At this, she giggled gently, "Apparently you're forgetful."

Tyson didn't know why, but he pulled her into a hug. A gesture for a gesture, both of them was showing one of friendship and a sign of respect for one another, something that would have made onlookers gawk if they knew who they were personally. And unbeknownst to Tyson and Hilary was that there was a single person witnessing this act.

Inhaling deep breaths, Kenny peeked through a corner part of the window from the second story in pure awe. The brunette had run practically all through town looking for this pair as stealthily as he could manage only to find that they were in the least likely place. So it was easy to say the young boy was somewhat irked and relieved to find them at Hilary's home. Unfortunately, a lot of his energy had been lost when trying to scale the wall.

Hopefully no onlookers for the onlooker were around, because he felt it seemed that there was a dead boy clinging to the Tatibana household.

"Okay… they're hugging," Kenny frowned at the behaviour, "Highly abnormal of them I suppose."

Remembering the camera tie, the boy smirked pulling up the front part to eye level as he clicked one of his glasses' lenses. Seeing he would get a good picture, he then pulled the back part of the tie.

"Now you'll see what you get when you ignore the Chief," Kenny smiled at his diabolicalness.

Noticing Hilary and Tyson pull apart from the hug, he went back to his job. The problem was, he could not hear through the glass. Scowling at his luck he moved forward to rest his ear against the window; accidentally losing his footing he made himself whack his head against the glass before sliding off the wall into some bushes.

Inside, the no longer hugging pair jumped at the sound. "What was that?" Hilary asked standing up looking towards the window.

"Probably a bird," Tyson guessed.

Hilary was reluctant to agree, "Maybe…."

"Don't be paranoid," Tyson told her, "I should go, Grandpa's probably wondering why I'm so late coming home from school."

Hilary laughed, "I doubt it, and he probably just thinks you had another detention. I'll go with you though, to prove your innocence."

"Whatever," Tyson rolled his eyes, "Maybe I don't want you come…."

As the pair headed for outside so that they could make it to Tyson's dojo; Kenny somewhat sat up in the bushes in a soar manner. He watched them from his hiding place, Hilary carefully locked the door back up and Tyson stood nearby.

"Where do you think Kenny went off to?" Hilary inquired looking to Tyson, though he just shrugged for an answer. "Weird… he usually waits for us."

Tyson sighed as they finally chose to depart from her yard, "Yeah, it is awful suspicious of him."

Kenny groaned rubbing his head when they seemed far enough away. "I just get here and you leave," he frowned talking, obviously, more to himself, "But at least I got my gem for the day."

Clicking the lens again, to see the picture he had taken before his terrible fall, only made his frown and disappointment deepen.

"Stupid glares…."

**A/N:** I know… kind of a random chapter, but it is important oddly enough for the next chapter. Personally I'm glad that Wednesday, in this fic, is finally done since it seemed to last longer than the other days of the week…. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed it even though there was quite the bit of a delay, please review it's very much appreciated.


	9. Chapter 8: Shackled Overtime

**A/N**: Well… at least it wasn't another month between updates, but here's the new chapter. An odd one at that… but what can you do? Anyways, I must extend my thanks to **amylovestakuya**, **kai-dranzer**, **sugahprincess1**, **Musee.Picasso**, **Thiaf**, **Majestic** **Evil**, **Kendo** **Baby**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Stewey-The insane one.**, **Tomoki-Element**, **sakura's conscience, vision-of-light**, **.w.a.t.e.r.m.i.r.a.l.** and **Plushie-Sensei** for the reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade.

Chapter Eight: Shackled Overtime

Miss Kincaid watched her class under a steady glare; every single one of her students was using their class time to the fullest, all working quietly and diligently. Something was wrong and it could be felt in the pit of her stomach. The thing that irked her was that she couldn't place her finger on it, and then proceed to squish the problem until it was non-existent.

That was mainly because most problems caused within this classroom were courtesy of Tyson. And he being one half of the handcuffed pair had made him a near winner of a two day winning streak. Thankfully today, Thursday, they had gone about their plan in a different way.

Relieved to see no couple antics today, Miss Kincaid was happy to witness true hints of friendship between the pair. This had confused the class to a high degree though; their relationship over the last week had made a few abrupt changes along the way. The days of the week had formed their overall emotion. Dislike to hate to love to, now, friendship.

The wonders of teenage relationships….

But the day did have one major set back; amazingly it occurred while in her refuge: the teacher's lounge during lunch. Often when the adults would get together at this time they'd discuss gossip that had been overheard from their students. Of course Miss Kincaid did not participate in this event, usually, she preferred to sit back in a comfy chair and drink her herbal tea.

Today had been different; teachers had heard a very hot topic that was going around the school. The buzz in the lounge had been amazed and curious when Miss Kincaid had walked in. That was when everything went silent; the teachers had stared at Miss Kincaid almost in awe before they applauded her.

Certainly that didn't happen everyday; and then they pulled her into the mob, pushing her gently to her usual chair, all of their expressions displaying expectance for an answer to an unasked question.

"Well…?" had proved her thoughts.

"Uh… well what, exactly…?" Miss Kincaid had wondered.

"We heard about Tyson and Hilary," a teacher stated, handing Miss Kincaid her usual tea.

"Oh," Miss Kincaid nodded excepting the cup, "What about them…?" She then proceeded to take an un-easy sip.

"That they kissed."

Miss Kincaid now sighed as she continued to watch her class and, occasionally, the clock. Those three small words had made her spit out her drink, because that had been the first time she heard that. Then the teachers had proceeded to ask questions she knew nothing about. She came to the conclusion she was awful at their pass time.

Now she could only pray this plan did not lead to romance, her doubt was seriously growing because of that detail. It didn't really even matter anymore how many times she told herself that today was friendship.

Suddenly her wandering gaze fell to Kenny, a very shifty looking Kenny. He was fidgeting as he looked towards the clock; he did this every couple seconds. Miss Kincaid noted there was only ten minutes of class left for the day as the genius brunette continued to look around.

She chose to ignore his behaviour though, it was Kenny after all. On the other hand she began to do the end of the day procedure for the week. That meant, firstly, choosing who won today.

A pretty easy task, today anyways. Miss Kincaid stood up, immediately getting her students attention as she walked towards a piece of chalk. She grabbed the substance from the ledge and approached the tally chart, drawing a single line beside another.

A moan was heard amongst a large group of students, yet a cheer drowned most of them out. "Marcus has a brother!"

After that, children began to close their books and pack up for the day as their teacher retreated to her desk. One more thing had to be taken care of.

Opening the drawer to retrieve a silver key to unlock Tyson and Hilary from one another, she instead found something else. A piece of folded up paper laid over where the key was, so she moved it aside.

That was when she paled.

The hand that had reached for Tyson and Hilary's only source of freedom began to shake as it searched frantically. Nothing was in the drawer other than the paper. Her jaw clenched tightly as she looked everywhere on the desk.

Closing her eyes, she began to rub her temple as if nursing a headache, "I know I put it in that drawer…."

In that very instant, the bell rang. The kids began for the door, all laughing and cheering. Kenny still sat in his desk, looking around just as shifty as before, almost as if searching for something. Meanwhile Tyson and Hilary were about to stand so that they could approach their teacher to be unlocked.

But before anyone could make a drastic move, Miss Kincaid slammed her hand down hard on the wood of her desk. Everyone had stopped their movements and turned their startled attention to their usually gentle teacher. Re-opening her eyes, Miss Kincaid met their stares with a hard gaze.

"Take your seats please…."

Not quite knowing what to expect, the students sulked quietly back to their desks. No one uttered a complaint or gave a sigh of fear, she had gained power.

"Miss?" a hand shot up from the back.

But it seemed the terror she enthralled on the others did not come upon the owner of the hand, Tyson Granger. It somewhat disappointed her that she could not return the emotion he often brought to her; to silently pray that it would never come down to an event again.

"Yes Tyson?" she called upon him calmly.

"I was wondering, if it was possible, that maybe Hilary and I could be separated before you… uh yell… I guess, at the class?" Tyson asked.

She was silent for a moment thinking over how to word the problem at hand. She then shook her head weakly, somewhat apologetically in a sense to his question. "That would be impossible, I'm sorry…."

Tyson thought that over puzzled, "Why?"

"The key… is missing," Miss Kincaid mumbled, only hoping the school board never hears about this. Imagine if they heard she had lost the key, the only key that was able to unlock students from one another. She wasn't even too sure if handcuffing two children to one another was allowed as it was, she probably should've looked into that beforehand.

"What?" Miss Kincaid flinched at the scream Tyson and Hilary had yelled out in unison.

"P-please… calm down," she stuttered, it seemed the tables turned one more time, "I-it… has to be in this room…. I-I don't understand where it could be, I put it in this drawer…."

"Miss Kincaid, why do we have to stay here?" a student wondered out loud, "It's not like we did anything."

She felt bad that she didn't believe in them at the moment for that to be the truth, but she couldn't take the chance. If the key was taken by one of her students she would never see it again if they left the room.

"No one is leaving this room until that key is back in my possession," Miss Kincaid stated sternly, "Until then, make yourselves comfy."

Seeing that Miss Kincaid went back to searching the desk, Tyson stretched his free arm out with a yawn. "Guess I'll catch up on my homework," he decided, taking his books out of his backpack again.

"Pardon?" Hilary questioned in awe, "I… I think you meant sleep, Tyson."

The capped boy attempted to look hurt by her words, all the while knowing it was usually the truth in most circumstances. "Don't judge me until you know me, Hilary," he told her.

"I do know you," Hilary said plainly, "This isn't you."

Tyson stared at his books silently for a moment, deciding if he should tell her or not. "I… was thinking about our conversation yesterday," he chose to say something.

"You'll have to remind me Tyson," she frowned, "We have more than one conversation usually."

"About how we stopped being friends," he went on, giving a sigh. "I noticed later that night that… we became friends again by chance. That bugged me."

Hilary nodded, "Oh."

"I mean, when you and Kenny were kidnapped that was really when it all began again," Tyson explained, "You wanted to find out why they took you and what was up with those guys in black. Even though I really didn't like it at first, you eventually became a part of the team… and a friend of mine again."

She smiled faintly, "We're still working on the last part…."

"No," Tyson stated, his handcuffed hand moved to rest on top of hers, "We're already friends."

Surprised by the gesture, Hilary stared at their hands in a moment's silence. "And this bugged you?" she inquired seconds later.

"Maybe…," he said softly, "Maybe it was more of the fact that you tried harder than me…."

"Huh?" Hilary became incredulous.

"You said it yourself yesterday," Tyson smiled, giving a slight shrug of the shoulders, "We had our own worlds afterwards. I had beyblading, you had school."

That had not cleared things up for the brunette, "What does that got to do with me apparently trying harder than you?"

Tyson laughed, "I find it more amusing that when I give you the opportunity to surpass me, you're reluctant to take it."

"Will you just tell me?" Hilary snapped, "Oh and pardon my _enthusiasm_."

"You tried a whole lot harder than me to understand my world than I did to understand yours," he sighed, his tone apologetic, "Hil, you wanted to find out so much about something you considered just a game of spinning tops. When you finally saw the bit beasts… it was just like the day you won your first election, just in my world now."

"Your world hadn't turned out as boring and bad as I thought it would've," she said, "Tyson, I'll never like Beyblade for the same reasons you do. Some are the same, while others I'll never know because I'm not a competitor… I'll just try to understand."

"That's why I want to be in your world too," Tyson squeezed her hand, "I don't really like school, but I know that it's important… especially to you. So I'm going to take the same approach you do. I may never like coming, but I know once I'm here I have fun hanging around you… and Kenny, can't forget Kenny…. Anyways, thanks for keeping me in line."

She smiled, "Anytime."

Tyson returned the smile with one of his own; his eyes had cast down somewhat shyly at the book before him. "I just don't want us to fall apart again…."

"Aww, Tyson," Hilary couldn't help herself; she gushed at his embarrassed yet sweet sincerity. And she suddenly moved their hands out of the way so she could wrap her one free arm around him, enveloping him in a hug.

The boy, to say the least, was taken back by the action, "Um… Hilary…?"

She broke away, just as embarrassed, to see everyone in the room staring at them. Miss Kincaid even stopped her search temporarily to observe their actions for a moment. The two merely adverted their gazes as crimson burned their cheeks.

"Tyson, Hilary, could I speak to you in the hallway?" Miss Kincaid called on them before addressing the class, "If the key is back on my desk when we return, no punishments will be given."

The handcuffed pair followed their teacher out the classroom door; she then shut the door securely. Miss Kincaid turned apologetic to them, she hadn't meant for this to happen.

"One of them has it, don't they?" Tyson whispered, gesturing his thumb back in the direction of the room.

"I can't be sure…," Miss Kincaid admitted.

Tyson frowned, disagreeing, "I can."

"How?" Hilary became skeptical as she looked to him.

Sighing, Tyson exclaimed, "Who else would care enough to steal a key? Someone obviously wants to catch us."

Miss Kincaid already knew what he meant, but she decided on acting like otherwise. "Concerning what exactly?" she crossed her arms.

"Oh… uh, nothing," Tyson clearly lied, "Nothing much that is, it's just I heard some rumours about us, that's all."

She had become curious at that, "About what?"

"Just about how we're not really dating," he shrugged.

"Oh," Miss Kincaid nodded, and then she changed the subject, "So what do you suppose we do?"

"Search backpacks, have everyone empty their pockets, I don't know…," Hilary proposed a few ideas.

"I guess that's what it's come down to," Miss Kincaid sighed; she really wanted to trust the whole class. Her students were all really good kids… for the most part.

"No," Tyson shook his head, "Miss Kincaid, just leave it to me. I think I know who has the key."

She stared at him surprised, "You do?"

"How…?" Hilary repeated the same question as before, the skeptical-ness not faltering.

"Just trust me," Tyson stated as he led them back into their classroom, nothing had changed.

Hilary frowned, "You're not accusing anyone until you have proof, Tyson."

Tyson glanced over his shoulder to look at the brunette, which was all it took for him to see that she was sticking by her words. Scowling, he inquired, "And what am I supposed to do, look around the crime scene for clues?"

Hilary smirked giving a nod.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention to their teacher. She had gone back to looking over her desk somewhat shakily; she seemed to be more pale than usual as well.

"I'm sure this will work…," he mumbled sarcastically, then he became unenthusiastic while questioning, "Miss Kincaid, was there anything at the scene of the crime…?" He glanced back to Hilary again, smirking to humour her, "Like eyelashes, fingerprints… oh wait, how about any form of identification?"

Miss Kincaid quirked an eyebrow to the navy haired boy, who at the moment was again getting smacked in the arm. "I may have overlooked _something_ actually…."

"Really?" Hilary boasted, hitting Tyson in the shoulder, "See!"

"Hey," he frowned, mending his wound, "Calm down, we don't even know if it's something that will help us yet."

Miss Kincaid opened the drawer that had held the key until sometime this day; she then retrieved the folded piece of paper that housed the space. Handing the possible evidence to Tyson, he had become suddenly incredulous.

"A ransom note…?" Hilary proposed.

Tyson again rolled his eyes at one of her assumptions, "Yes Hilary, I'm sure it's a…." Opening the paper up had made him stop short, "A ransom note… I guess, good eye…."

The brunette beamed taking the paper from him, much to his refusal. "So what does it say anyways?"

On the paper were three simple sentences. Basic and to the point, whoever did this did not like to beat around the bush.

'**I HAVE THE KEY. I HOLD YOUR FUTURE. I _KNOW_ YOUR SECRET.'**

"Guess this doesn't help," Hilary sighed giving the paper back to Tyson, who instead looked happy at the outcome.

"Are you kidding me, this just proves my thoughts… I know who's behind this," Tyson stated with a grin. He was about to march off and accuse someone when Hilary pulled him back.

"Proof Tyson," Hilary told him, she felt it was her duty to constantly remind, "Tell me how before you tell them who."

Tyson smirked taking his arm out of her grasp, "Are you telling me you don't know who did this? And you say you're smarter than me."

"I am," Hilary stated.

Tyson shook his head in disagreement, "I don't seem to think so, how come you don't know who took the key then?"

It was Hilary's turn to smirk, "You haven't exactly told me your assumption of the culprit yet either Tyson."

"Not assumption, truth," he corrected.

"Truth needs trust or proof," Hilary frowned, "So until I see some evidence…."

"Wait," he cut her off mid-sentence, Tyson's face turned serious, "You don't trust me?"

The brunette let out another sigh, "Not when it comes to quick thinking."

Tyson seemed a little hurt by the words, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Really…?" he asked solemnly, disappointment hung in his voice, "I always thought it was one of my better qualities…."

"Well…," Hilary began, regret was now weighing on her shoulders, "Not _always_, I mean…. When you're beyblading you can really surprise me."

The attempt didn't really help the capped boy feel any better. "So basically when I'm not focusing on Dragoon I'm as useless as a fish out of water?" the tone of his voice had made the guilt of the situation worsen.

"Tyson," Hilary said apologetically, resting her hand on his arm for reassurance, "You're not a fish to me."

Though he quirked an eyebrow at the statement, a grin formed on his face. "Thanks… I guess."

Her face burned with crimson once realizing what she had said to Tyson, and how utterly stupid it had sounded. Waiting for laughter to follow suit, her eyes decided to find the tiles of the classroom far more interesting. Oddly enough, the sound was never heard, instead she felt the soft brush of Tyson's lips against her cheek. It had been merely a peck, but it proved to be enough for the brunette to turn a darker shade of red.

"Guess I'll just have to earn your trust," Tyson smiled, "But it really is quite easy to see who's behind this."

Hilary reluctantly met his gaze again, "How so?"

"You can't tell me you don't see anything fairly suspicious about this little letter from our friend," Tyson sighed.

"There are just three sentences," she shrugged.

"And how are they written?" he ventured.

"They're not written, they're…," Hilary stopped short, causing the navy haired boy to smile at her acknowledgement. "They're… typed."

Nodding, Tyson questioned, "And who has access to a computer 24/7?"

He knew Hilary discovered who he believed committed the crime when she did not say anything. She seemed to be contemplating the thought over in her mind.

"He wouldn't," Hilary said simply.

"No?" Tyson frowned.

Hilary stressed her thoughts, "No."

"Ugh," Tyson sighed with frustration, "I gave you evidence, what more do you want?"

"Who said this person wrote… typed, that today?" Hilary proposed, "Didn't think of that, did you?"

"No," Tyson admitted, "But… we can't prove you're right either. So he's a possibility."

"I'm not going to let you blame Kenny just because he carries a laptop around," Hilary explained, "So unless we find the key in his possession or he confesses, you're not pointing the finger at anyone."

"Confess…?" Tyson smiled suddenly, "Oh, Miss Kincaid?"

"What are you up to?" Hilary asked suspiciously as he turned his attention back to their teacher. Approaching Miss Kincaid at her desk, she wondered, "Tyson?"

"Yes Tyson?" Miss Kincaid questioned upon her students coming towards her, "How can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you had some sort of separate small work area Hil and I could borrow," Tyson told her, "But it can only have one exit."

"Um… on this floor the teachers share a small office," Miss Kincaid shrugged, not quite understanding, "May I ask why?"

Tyson leaned toward their teacher so that he could whisper the answer. "I want to take someone in for questioning…," he merely explained.

Miss Kincaid stared at the boy blankly for a few moments, and then she smiled. "That's not a bad idea," she stated.

Tyson nodded, "Glad _you_ agree."

"I guess this way is fair," Hilary sighed.

"So… who is the accused?" Miss Kincaid questioned curiously.

At that, the pair glanced at one another with dismay. "You see… the letter points to Kenny," Hilary said quietly, so that the class could not hear the conversation, "But, I don't think either of us wants to believe it."

"But I still do," Tyson continued, "Unfortunately; Hilary won't let me just go up to him though… so in a way, we need to take him into custody."

"You know…," Miss Kincaid became reluctant after starting, yet seeing as Tyson and Hilary were staring at her with intent she continued, "I may have further proof to convict him…."

"Really…, you do?" Tyson inquired, "What?"

"Well… he seemed quite nervous throughout the day," Miss Kincaid stated, "Then at the end of the day he became more frantic, a little sketchy. Plus he was acting surprised when the bell rang… as if he was waiting for something to go wrong."

"That's suspicious," Tyson agreed glancing to his partner, "Do you believe me now?"

Hilary stared at him for a second or two before shaking her head. "No… not until we know for sure."

"Fine, we'll just get him to confess then," Tyson frowned at her stubbornness, "Come on."

Hilary nodded while the handcuffed pair walked towards Kenny's desk. That was where she noticed his odd behaviour as well; he was looking every which way. It saddened her to agree that he seemed very guilty.

"Kenny?" Tyson questioned their brunette friend.

He looked up to the navy haired boy incredulously, "Yes…."

"Kenny of the Blade Breakers, as in friend of the incredibly handsome World Champion with the single best stunning smile of the entire universe?" Tyson asked, causing Hilary to roll her eyes.

"Are you serious?" Kenny frowned, almost skeptic.

"Just answer the question sir," Tyson demanded.

So, Kenny nodded, "I guess so… yeah."

"Yes or no, sir," Tyson frowned, "And may I add, failure to answer an officer will not look good on your write up."

"But… you're not an officer," Kenny pointed out.

"Would you like me to show you my badge?" Tyson asked.

Kenny shrugged, "Um… okay."

Tyson's face then faltered, the serious expression he has worn became unimpressed. "Kenny, just play along, I can't really show you a badge…," he smiled faintly.

Sighing, he confirmed his identity, "Yes _Officer_, I'm Kenny of the Blade Breakers. What seems to be the problem?"

"Sir, me and my partner – Officer Tatibana – have to ask you a few questions. We ask for your full cooperation," Tyson explained, "If you will, follow us."

Kenny did not move, "You think I did it…?"

Tyson paused, giving a glance to Hilary, before pointing out, "You jump to conclusions fairly quickly, maybe we just wanted your assistance on the case. Should we consider you a suspect?"

"I'm innocent," Kenny stated.

"We'll continue our conversation somewhere more private, please come with us," Tyson dismissed the statement.

Though Kenny stood up, he turned to the brunette to continue his plea, "Hilary, please… you must know I'm innocent. I'd never do something like that."

Hilary smiled apologetically, "I'm really sorry Kenny… but we do have to ask you a few questions."

Tyson gently led the shorter boy towards the classroom door with a hand on his shoulder, Kenny's head hung down in shame. Students watched in awe and surprise as they walked pass them.

"Hilary… can you please take Kenny to the office, I need a word with Miss Kincaid?" Tyson sighed.

"You're an idiot," the brunette rolled her eyes.

Tyson frowned, "And that would be because…?"

"You're locked together," Kenny reminded.

"Oh… oh yeah," Tyson scratched his nose out of embarrassment, having forgotten about the little detail, "I guess that's why you're coming with us in the first place, huh?"

Kenny shook his head, "Just do whatever you need to do Tyson." Hilary nodded in agreement, finding him suddenly annoying again.

"I've been meaning to ask you Miss Kincaid, does this room have a lamp in it?" Tyson wondered.

Miss Kincaid quirked an eyebrow at the odd question, but nodded in acknowledgement. The boy instantly grinned.

"Perfect."

**A/N**: I'm not sure why, but I love the TyHil development in this chapter. Maybe it's just the whole fish thing – that came out of nowhere. Alright, well I'll work on the next chapter, I have it all planned out anyways. Please review; they're greatly appreciated as always.


	10. Chapter 9: Officer, Lightbulbs Hurt

**A/N: **New chapter time… this one is actually pretty long compared to some of my other ones. So I won't ramble on for a long time, but I would like to thank **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Kendo Baby**, **NKingy**, **Thiaf**, **Plushie-Sensei**, **fyrfly23**, **sugahprincess1**, **shadowphoenix101**, **Starfighter364**, **Silverstar335**, **Iluvbeyblade**, **Musee.Picasso** and **Moonlit Darkness** for the reviews.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Beyblade

Chapter Nine: Officer, Lightbulbs Hurt

Kenny, not exactly wanting to, was being led down the hall with Tyson's hand firmly gripping his shoulder. The betrayal the boy felt was deepened by this action, grasping onto him as if he would scramble away from them and run to any means of escape. His head remained tilted down in shame, watching his feet in a reluctant pace towards the group's destination.

"Which one is it?" Tyson murmured, glancing back to the brunette who trailed slightly behind them.

Hilary let out a sigh, "How about the one that doesn't have a specific teacher's name on it."

The capped boy stopped suddenly, pulling back Kenny abruptly by accident. "Sorry Chief," Tyson apologized quickly, and then he turned his attention to the door at his right, "You mean this? I always thought it was the janitor's closet."

Hilary shook her head, "Though they did move that up here because you constantly needed access to brooms for cleaning duty, this isn't it. This would be the office for teachers on this floor that Miss Kincaid was telling us about."

"Do they really need both offices and lounges?" Tyson frowned, "Aren't they always complaining about the lack of text books, yet the school obviously has enough money."

"I hear you, Tyson," Hilary told him, somewhat surprised by his concern, "But… offices are for working."

"And lounges are for what?" Tyson wondered.

"How about lounging?" Kenny offered sarcastically.

"Guess we should get this over with," Tyson ignored his smaller friend, his attention again at the door. "Hey Hil, do you think anyone's inside?"

"Why would you ask?" Hilary looked at him.

"The lights are on," Tyson pointed out.

Hilary shrugged, "Check then."

Tyson glanced to Kenny, almost warningly, before reluctantly removing his free hand from the clamp like position it had been in. Sticking his head against the glass of the window on the door to peer inside, his hands sheltered the side views of his eyes making sure that no reflection or lights would occur on his side. It helped him see inside the room somewhat better, and then he was pulled back with force.

"Hey," he yelled in protest.

Hilary merely glared at him, "I meant knock on the door, you know the polite thing?"

Tyson scowled as the girl knocked twice on the door. All they had gotten in return was silence, either no one was within the room or they had been ignored.

"Kids, you're going to need this," Miss Kincaid stated suddenly, catching the three students' attention. She tossed the children a bronze key, which Tyson caught flawlessly from down the hall.

"Nice throw, Miss Kincaid!" Tyson grinned, giving his teacher a thumbs-up.

"Um… thank you… I guess," Miss Kincaid smiled faintly, returning his gesture awkwardly, "Good luck…." She then vanished from their sight back into the classroom.

Tyson used the key to unlock the door; he then held the door open for Kenny to enter first. Frowning, the boy sulked into the cramped room which held counters against the walls, a small table, a few chairs and as promised a desktop lamp.

"Take a seat," the navy haired boy told him.

"Fine…," Kenny sighed sitting on a computer chair, though there was a lack of computers in the room.

Tyson then met the gaze of Hilary before he smiled. Giving a slight bow, he waved his free hand to the open doorway, "Ladies first." Rolling her eyes she led them in, Tyson closed the door as they entered.

"So _officers_, why do you think out of everyone in that room I'm the one who's guilty?" Kenny wondered.

"We'll be the one's asking the questions," Tyson dismissed him dramatically before flicking the lights off completely. The room was shrouded in darkness as Kenny heard footsteps make their way to another side of the room. He was only able to see silhouettes as they passed the illuminated window that revealed the hallway.

A click was heard when a small light source was switched on. Tyson and Hilary stood by the desk lamp situated on the counter opposite of Kenny. The light did not reach far, only really brightening the pair themselves and dimly Kenny.

Kenny kicked his legs as they hung off the edge of the chair in a nervous manner. Gulping, he gathered his thoughts, "You really think I did it…?"

Tyson's face didn't even express a hint of guilt at Kenny's conviction. "Again, I'll tell you this… we'll be making the questions for _you_ to answer," he stated plainly.

"What are you doing?" Hilary inquired, giving her partner a lost look. Not that Tyson had noticed, his eyes continued to stare in Kenny's direction with great seriousness.

That was when the genius brunette sitting on the chair cleared his throat. "I believe she's talking to you…," he said weakly.

Tyson's eyebrows rose out of curiosity when his gaze wandered over to Hilary. "What… me? You're supposed to be asking him questions," he pointed to Kenny.

"Excuse us for a moment," Hilary smiled reassuringly to their accused friend, she then dragged Tyson off to a darkened corner of the room. That hadn't exactly eased Kenny, the thought of them being able to see him, while his ability of sight had become enabled.

"What?" Tyson hissed fairly loudly.

"Indoor voice," Hilary raised a finger to place on his lips, as if to hush him. "I just want to know what's with the cop talk; you don't honestly think that will make him confess, do you?"

Tyson rolled his eyes, taking her wrist within one of his hands to move it aside so he could speak. "Listen, this is the _only_ way," he stressed.

"Why can't we level with him as friends?" Hilary wondered quietly.

Tyson sighed sliding his grasp from her wrist down to her hand before giving it a squeeze. "I promise you, if my plan doesn't work we'll use yours," he told her.

"Why can't we use my plan first?" Hilary questioned with a pouting tone to her voice.

"I'll let you be in charge of your plan if we have to use it," Tyson attempted to compromise, though, from what he could see of her in the dark, she did not look impressed.

Hilary didn't say anything for a moment, and then a sigh of defeat escaped her lips. She squeezed his hand back, "I promise not to let you look like a complete idiot."

Tyson grinned suddenly, "That's all I ask."

Hilary rolled her eyes, "So what's the game plan?"

"Just follow my lead," Tyson stated, "It's more of a while you're in the moment kind of thing."

"Not to sound like the sane one or anything," Hilary said, "But… you want to wing the only chance we get at his confession? The time he's in this room is the only time we have; I'd feel better if we had an idea of what we're doing."

Tyson became skeptic, "That's why you don't want to do this?"

Hilary frowned, "Yes, is it _that_ strange that I want some reassurance when it comes to this situation?"

There was no reply; instead she heard a deep inhale of breath. Hilary tried to see the boy's expression through the darkness, but failed miserably. Giving up on the attempt at sight, she was suddenly taken back by the presence of lips against hers. Again the action from Tyson had been abrupt yet soft, willing but reluctant. And the girl found herself surprised, at a loss for words.

"I… _hope_ that made you feel better…," Tyson mumbled, sounding quite embarrassed, "All I can ask is for you to trust me, as hard as that is for you."

Hilary nodded, her head twisting to look at Kenny who seemed uncomfortable. "I know when I should trust you and when it's best to rely on myself…," she said.

"But I want you to always be able to rely on me," Tyson stated softly, "Always… not just some of the times."

Hilary's gaze had cast back to him in a few seconds of silence, and then she questioned him quite bluntly. "Why do you care so much suddenly, you never did before?"

"I don't…," Tyson paused momentarily, "…know."

"Uh… you guys?" Kenny called from his spot on the chair, "W-what are you doing…? I-if you're trying the scare tactic… it's not w-working… at all…."

"One moment," Hilary told her friend to ease his nervousness. She then whispered to Tyson again, "Listen… we can sort out our emotional problems later, right now we have to find the key to get these things off us."

"Fine, whatever," Tyson shrugged.

"Tyson…," Hilary sighed.

"It's fine, we'll do that later, let's just go question Kenny before he makes a break for it," he said plainly.

"Okay, maybe we should sort things out now," Hilary frowned resting her free hand on his arm, as if to prevent him from walking away from the conversation. "If you want me to always trust and rely on you, you're going to have to earn that status."

Tyson disagreed, "I should already have that status."

"In your dreams, want to know why I only trust and rely fully on you when you have a launcher gripped in your hand and a beyblade spinning in front of you? Maybe that's because it's the only time you come through with what you say," Hilary snapped, "Maybe that's the only situation you seem actually serious about."

"And I'm not a fish to you?" Tyson shot back, "Name one time you couldn't count on me."

"I can name one that happens most of the days of the week," Hilary smirked, "Sure, I'll come to school on time, the next day you're ten minutes late and you dare laugh about your incompetence. Ha ha ha, I'm Tyson, look at me, I seek attention and when I'm not beyblading or talking about beyblade you can _always_ trust me. Just ask Hilary, she's living proof of that…."

"I'll set your awful impersonation aside if you tell me what's bugging you," Tyson sighed.

Hilary removed her hand from his arm defensively, "It wasn't awful…."

"Uh huh," Tyson said unconvinced.

"I'm sorry I don't trust you all the time Tyson, would you like me to lie to you and say I do?" Hilary told him, "I have great respect for you in and outside of beyblading, you've earned that…. These things just take time."

"You have… respect for me?" Tyson questioned with awe.

Hilary nodded, "Yeah… I thought you knew."

"No, I didn't actually," Tyson smiled to himself, "That means a lot to me Hil, thank you. I respect you too."

"You're welcome," Hilary said, "And Tyson… I really hope you'll trust and rely on me too one day."

"Don't be silly," the capped boy shook his head at her statement, "I already do. When hasn't Hilary Tatibana been there for me or have ever gone back on her word, huh? I can't think of one single time, as far as I'm concerned we'll always be handcuffed to one another."

"Thank you…," Hilary smiled wrapping her arm tightly around the navy haired boy again. He returned the gesture laughing gently, almost like at a joke he wanted to keep private. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… this is the second time today you've tackled me with a hug out of nowhere," he pointed out.

"Oh… sorry," Hilary apologized pulling away, "Didn't mean to be a problem…."

"You're not the problem," Tyson decided.

"Oh what, it's not you, it's me?" Hilary asked with a roll of the eyes.

"No," he frowned.

Hilary inquired, "What is it then?"

"I kind of… like it when we have our… moments, I guess," Tyson admitted somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh."

After Hilary gave that acknowledgement, also feeling quite uncomfortable and unsure of what to say, a silence fell between the two. The room became very unsettling for everyone, affecting Kenny the most. If it hadn't been for him it probably would've continued that way.

"G-guys…?" Kenny called for them again, "Can we please get this over with?" He hadn't heard anything good in their conversation when they had been talking, barely anything rather than when their voices had raised. He only made out their constant references to trust and reliance really, making him suppose that they were speaking of him.

"Hold on," Tyson told him, and then he spoke to Hilary softly, "We should probably just get on with this, okay?"

She nodded, "Alright…."

Tyson and Hilary walked back to where they had been situated by the lamp, relieving Kenny when his friends again had light shine upon them. Their expression displayed great seriousness to them, showing that they must have had a good talk about the poor boy on the chair just moments ago. Of all the topics in the world….

Kenny's attention darted to see Tyson's not so subtle movements while he went to grasp the opposable neck of the desktop lamp. The brown haired boy became quizzical because of this action; he didn't understand why Tyson would want to hold the lamp.

"Unless…," Kenny murmured to himself, suddenly realization dawned on him and his jaw hung open in shock. The boy recoiled back into the chair, waving his hands around in front of him in defence as he brought his legs up to protect himself. "Don't throw it, please, I'm begging you!"

Tyson and Hilary exchanged a glance in disbelief; all the while Kenny flinched expecting pain. The navy haired boy began to laugh, "You honestly thought I'd hit you with a lamp? Boy, your opinion of me isn't much higher than Hilary's…."

Kenny slowly lowered his defence mechanisms, that being his arms and legs; his face burned with embarrassment. "I um…sorry, guess I just jumped to conclusions…," he sputtered.

"That's alright," Tyson shrugged casually. The handcuffed pair now approached the boy on the chair, the lamp lighting Kenny much stronger. This made him fidget nervously as he sat up straight, leaning as far as he could into the chair. "Will you calm down, Chief? I'm just going to ask you a few questions."

"And answer them to the best of your abilities," Hilary added, her partner just nodded in agreement.

Kenny gulped, "Sure…."

"Where were you at the first fifteen minutes of lunch today?" Tyson asked, carrying the lamp so that it would beam light directly down to Kenny. This instantly made him squirm; amazingly the light had reached its way to the boy's eyes.

"Today?" Kenny frowned, attempting to look away from the irritating lamp.

"Today," Tyson confirmed, "Would you like the date?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I know what day it is today," Kenny stated.

"Are you going to answer my initial question or are you going to keep avoiding it?" Tyson inquired, "Where were you at the beginning of lunch?"

"I was…," Kenny paused, "In the… washroom…."

"You don't sound so sure," Tyson pointed out.

"That's where I was," Kenny told him.

"But was it not you who told me that they loathed public washrooms?" Tyson demanded.

"When did I ever say that?" Kenny asked curiously.

Tyson raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying that you love them?"

"I wouldn't say _love_," Kenny disagreed somewhat.

"So you indeed like them?" Tyson ventured.

"I've never thought of it honestly," Kenny scowled, "Is there a point to this?"

"Will you stop playing mind games, Tyson," Hilary frowned.

"Oh, but I'm not," Tyson smiled, turning his attention to the female brunette, "Every good hypothesis has to be proven with research, my observations will lead me to see if my assumption is the truth or if it was false. I'm just gathering my information."

Kenny's jaw again had dropped open, having heard those words rephrased to him yesterday. Science was continuously being put against him lately – it seemed both Tyson and the leader of the gang both knew the set up of science projects, only this time he was the specimen.

"Speaking of which," Tyson continued, "You wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions, would you Hilary?"

She looked at him puzzled, "You think I'm guilty now?"

Tyson rolled his eyes, "I know I'm irresistible when it comes to girls, but I also know you're not _that_ insane over me."

Hilary smirked, "You got that right."

"Anyways, I wanted to ask you something," Tyson said, glancing to Kenny for a second to make sure he was paying attention, "When you ask Kenny a question about beyblades, now of days, is he pretty direct?"

"Straight to the point," Hilary nodded, still confused.

"How about when you just want to know about stuff in general, like how his day was, is he direct?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Hilary nodded again, sensing a pattern.

"Alright, so now let's say you're asking him a specific question, such as his favourite colour, is he direct?" Tyson wondered, acting curious.

"Basically," Hilary said, "Unless he has more than one favourite, then he'd probably give explanations as to why."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Kenny interrupted, not quite seeing the point to these questions.

Tyson ignored him though; instead he continued to drill Hilary. "What if Kenny were to beat around the bush in any of those situations, what would you assume to be the reason as to why?"

Hilary shrugged, "Either that he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, he was hiding something or he was protecting private information."

Kenny didn't like the fact that she had just hit all the nails on the head for the situation. Attempting to sway the subject, he spoke up, "You'd assume all that because I didn't want to pick my favourite colour?"

"One more question," Tyson again had ignored the smaller boy, "Hilary, do you like public washrooms?"

"Not really, most of them are gross…," Hilary answered, and then she realized what Tyson had been getting at. "I think this is one of the smartest things you've ever done that I've witnessed…."

Tyson grinned, "Am I reliable, or what?"

Kenny scowled, "Can you answer my question now, what exactly was the point of _that_? And, please, tell me how _this_ would prove anything."

"If you will, please recall my earlier question to you about public washrooms. Now recall your answer to that same question," Tyson began to explain, "Remind me Chief, what was your answer?"

Kenny sat in silence for a moment, and then he stated, "I didn't give you one."

"Not a straight answer, anyways," Tyson replied.

"Again, your point being…?" Kenny repeated.

Hilary decided to speak up, "What are you hiding? Or is it that you don't think we can handle the truth? Maybe you're keeping information from us that we might find interesting? I don't know. Which one is it?"

The smaller boy's scowl deepened, "Oh, I see. What's the big deal if I don't answer a single question right away? That shouldn't decide my fate."

"It wouldn't bug me if it was a single question," Tyson stated with a shrug, "But I've noticed you've been taking that approach to basically everything lately, especially now that we got you alone in this room."

"Know what I've noticed lately, Tyson?" Kenny shot back, mostly out of the irritable sense of the situation, "That your approach to everything involving me and your wild ideas is to take Hilary aside and whisper theories of broken friendship and lies and plans. Talking in the corner about how to handle me while I'm sitting in the dark – pardon the pun – who do you think you are?"

Hilary stared at him incredulously while the boy took a deep breath to calm himself down. She partly expected Tyson to explode on the boy, but he instead began to chuckle. And by Kenny's sudden tense reaction, he did not seem pleased.

"No offense Kenny, but the world does not revolve around you," Tyson smiled, almost tauntingly, "Hilary and I were planning on talking about you, I'll tell you that, but we got sort of sidetracked."

"Of course the world doesn't revolve around me, it's too busy circling your giant head," Kenny frowned, "Everything is about you. But I don't think you know who you're fooling Tyson."

"Oh? Fooling, what do you mean by that?" Tyson asked.

"Don't play stupid, everyone can tell that you and Hilary aren't really dating. I'll admit, I was surprised with your small public displays of affection, even somewhat convinced, but I know that couldn't happen in a million years… let alone two days," Kenny snapped, "Your relationship is always the same – you fight, you makeup, you're somewhat friends – that's it, nothing more or nothing less."

Tyson beckoned closer, the lamp's light again becoming brighter on the other boy, causing Kenny to shield his face with his arm. The navy haired boy just stared at him in silence, as if considering him.

"Don't tell me what my relationship with Hilary is like," Tyson told him, "When you're locked to a person for a whole day, let alone four, you happen to learn a thing or two about them. Maybe a month ago my relationship with Hil was like that, sure, but definitions do change over time. Chief, if you can't look in my eyes and see the sincerity when I say this, I'll tell the world I'm a liar."

"Say what?" Kenny questioned.

Tyson rolled his eyes, "I can't say it until you lower your arm and look me in the eyes."

"On one condition," Kenny compromised, "You back off with the lamp."

Tyson lowered the light so that it wasn't hitting Kenny strongly anymore, yet it was still in position to see all three of them pretty clear. Kenny took that as his cue to lower his arm again as he sat in waiting.

"I don't get why you don't understand this, but over the last few days my feelings for Hilary have changed," Tyson sighed, "Can you please try to level with me as a friend?"

Kenny frowned, "If we were real friends, why didn't you tell me about this development?"

"Kenny," Hilary intervened, his attention switched to her and immediately he felt guilty. Unlike Tyson, she didn't deserve his earlier attack and he had gone off the deep end about the smallest thing. She smiled faintly, "Tyson and me… well it's hard to explain, all I ask is that you accept the change. We didn't mean to harm our relationship with you."

The boy on the chair kicked his feet, head titled down yet again. "You didn't, I did… sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Kenny, _they_ put you up to it," Hilary said, causing Tyson to quirk an eyebrow out of confusion.

"Yeah Hil, you're right, they…," Kenny stopped short, and his head whipped up to see his friend smiling, "You're setting me up? Why would you do this, you have nothing against me in the first place to prove me guilty?"

Hilary smirked, "Sure we do. You obviously lied about your actual whereabouts, you gave us a motive when Tyson made you angry and lastly, you admitted to having allies."

"Way to go, Hilary," Tyson grinned at the female brunette.

Kenny didn't seem as convinced, "So tell me then, what's my motive?"

"It's quite obvious really, clues were scattered within your remarks," Hilary explained, "Let's begin with the annoyance you expressed about Tyson's constant need to be on center stage. The rumour of our relationship began to stir, and of course would brew even more attention. Whatever your problems are about could lead to wanting to show us up."

Kenny shrugged, "Seems far fetched."

"Well then you implied the relationship wasn't real, therefore it being trickery," Hilary continued, "Meaning you had a suspicion that we were gathering attention on purpose, even if the reason was unknown."

His frown deepened, her assumptions sounded eerily familiar to him. "Uh huh…."

"Then you used a hyperbole," Hilary stated, glancing to see Tyson wearing a confused expression, "Or exaggeration, you said everyone knew it was fake. That led me to believe you had accomplices, a lot of times when people only have a small sample of people who they know have the same opinion as them they stretch the truth."

Beads of sweat began to form on Kenny's forehead; it seemed that Hilary was a much better detective than he was. Nervousness wafted over him uncomfortably, "Alright…."

"So… what do you get out of that, Hil?" Tyson wondered curiously, almost at awe with her observations.

"That he's been working with a group of kids who feel the same as him, and he's been trying to expose our _fake_ relationship for the last couple days," Hilary summed up.

Tyson nodded, "I see… have anything you want to confess, Chief?"

"Your accusations may sound astounding," Kenny said, somehow finding courage, "But you're missing a _key_ part of your investigation."

"That being…?" Tyson ventured.

"Evidence."

"What did you do, swallow the key?" Tyson frowned at the detail he had somehow forgotten.

Kenny shook his head, "No because I didn't take the key, how many times do I have to tell you that!" Out of annoyance the boy stood up and turned all his pockets inside out, "Is there a key anywhere?"

"Can we search your backpack?" Hilary questioned.

"If it means we can leave this closet of an office, I insist," Kenny nodded eagerly, "I have nothing to hide; I'm telling you I'm innocent."

"So you've never seen this before?" Tyson removed a folded piece of paper that he had once pocketed and handed it to Kenny.

Opening up the paper made the boy become perplexed. "Let me guess, you thought it was me because it was typed?"

Tyson and Hilary both nodded, admitting the fact. "Yes," they agreed in unison.

"Couldn't be," he told them, now more at ease, before re-folding the paper and handing it back.

"What, yeah it is," Tyson argued, "Miss Kincaid even said you were acting weird at the end of the school day today. She said you were acting as if something was supposed to happen, and it did."

"That's because I was informed beforehand that something was going to happen," Kenny told them, "But don't ask me who, I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Hilary questioned.

"I mean literally, I don't know their names," Kenny frowned, "There's three boys and a girl."

"You don't know everyone in the class' names?" Tyson raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" Kenny asked.

"Alright, so why didn't you warn us?" Tyson inquired, changing the subject.

"They threatened me," Kenny explained.

Hilary frowned, "With what?"

"The delete button," Kenny sighed.

"The delete button…?" Tyson repeated skeptically.

Kenny nodded, "They threatened to delete Dizzi if I didn't help them expose the truth about you two."

"False," Tyson corrected, "You can delete Dizzi?"

"I don't think you can expose the false, Tyson," Kenny stated, "Can you delete Solitaire?"

"Stop turning my questions on me," Tyson complained.

Hilary still seemed reluctant on if she should believe her friend, so Kenny spoke up. "You can still search my backpack, I told you I have nothing to hide…. Now can we please leave?"

"Wait, you didn't tell us why the note couldn't be from you," Tyson pointed out.

Kenny had headed for the door anyways, Tyson and Hilary on his trail to make sure he didn't try anything. Leaving the lamp on the nearby counter, Tyson watched as Kenny opened the door. The sudden light may have assisted their vision, but it took them a moment to adjust.

Walking into the hallway, the genius stated what he felt was obvious, "I don't have access to a printer, I'm more of a bring up on a disk kind of guy."

"Huh?" Tyson still seemed confused.

"Why would I have to print anything off if I always have Dizzi with me?" Kenny explained.

"What about school projects?" Tyson fired back.

Hilary let out a sigh, "He usually gives me a disk…."

"I want you to search my backpack," Kenny repeated, "So you can finally rule me off the suspect list." He then turned around and began to walk back towards their classroom.

Tyson and Hilary remained a couple feet behind their friend, who still was their lead suspect. "He fed into every line you gave him," the navy haired boy smiled, "Great clues too, hate to have you against me."

"I'm always against you, Tyson," Hilary rolled her eyes, "But I do feel bad for tricking him… _again_."

Tyson sighed, "Oh, the printing thing?"

"Yeah," Hilary nodded.

"Well it's his fault if he doesn't realize we played him into giving us information," Tyson shrugged, "It was like he forgot we now know he has allies."

Hilary shook her head, "No, he feels that we believe him and that he's now on our side. While on the contrary, we're just giving him a false state of mind so this whole process will be over with quicker…."

"Amazing what happens when we unknowingly compromise…," Tyson pointed out.

"We're quite unstoppable," Hilary agreed.

Tyson nodded, "Lethal even."

Hilary paused to consider something for a moment, "Guess this is proof why I should trust and rely on you more often."

Giving a wink, Tyson grinned, "Magical isn't it?"

**A/N:** This chapter was kind of… random, and I honestly didn't mean for Hilary to turn out that stubborn about everything, but I suppose that suits her fine. Right, well please review!


	11. Chapter 10: Catastrophe With A Capital K

**A/N**: Why is it that when I only have a simple idea for a chapter I'm able to ramble on forever about nothing? Well, that's what it sometimes feels like. Anyways, I thought I'd warn you now; this chapter contains educational qualities to it. I'd like to thank **Sakura-Moonlight**, **NKingy**, **fyrfly23**, **Kendo Baby**, **Jess**, **Musee.Picasso**, **Thiaf**, **shadowphoenix101** and **ThEy cAn'T SaVE uS Now**. for the reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade

Chapter Ten: Catastrophe With A Capital K

Miss Kincaid was engaged into a staring contest with her students, those of which seemed fairly annoyed. It wasn't that she couldn't understand why they were in the first place, for the first time in her life she had assigned detention to her entire class. It had even been her sole decision, a gratifying moment if it not been for the situation.

The ordeal still made her palms sweat; an eerie cold sweat that she sometimes got after waking up from a nightmare. But in this instance, no matter how many times she would subtly pinch herself, she would not wake up.

Her students wore identical glares, all directed to the same guilt ridden target. Scowls were gracing many faces within the classroom, some, she noticed, seemed lightly worn on a few faces. Smugness wafted in those children's air, and it brought dread.

Dread she could not begin to understand. She had proven something while three students were absent momentarily, that these were the innocent.

The opening of the door snapped life into Miss Kincaid's students, their eyes darted to the arrival of the accused. The accused, also known as Kenny, entered the room in the same state he had left. His head hung somewhat low, yet his shoulders had not slumped with defeat; a mixed signal of sorts.

Children began to celebrate; cheering about freedom and how it had been forever since they had last seen sunlight. Regardless of the facts that the curtains were drawn and they had only been in the room for a little over a half hour.

"We can leave!" students started to chant.

"No you can't," Miss Kincaid let out a relieved sigh for the first time in her life when Tyson entered the room with Hilary moments later. He continued, "Well that is, unless you have a little key."

Their classmates suddenly settled down, instantly going back to their angry dispositions. Only this time they eased off their teacher and directed their energy towards the handcuffed pair.

Kenny on the other hand was walking back to his new seating placement since the beginning of the week. He assumed from the cheers that the class registered his drooping head as a warning sign of guilt. He was not defeated, he wouldn't be, just weary from the stressful and crazy day.

"Freeze!"

_Click!_

The brown haired boy stopped immediately at the sound, he became instantly tense. Eyes wandered over to him in surprise, not helping his already active nerves. And a lump gathered in his throat that he couldn't seem to swallow.

"Raise your hands in the air… slowly."

Kenny obeyed and lifted his arms up so that his hands became adjacent to his head. He then slowly shuffled his feet so that he could face the person who was ordering him.

The scene wasn't something he thought he would ever see, then again, Kenny never imagined his two best friends handcuffed for an entire week. Actually, the more he thought about it, anything that occurred within this week seemed highly improbable to him.

Tyson was staring at him seriously, an intense concentration sparking his eyes with a certain light. Which all made sense when Kenny realized the clicking sound had been what lied within his grasp. When was the World Champ most focused? Why when he has the means of the game ready to fire of course.

Unfortunately Kenny couldn't decide whether to quiver in deep fear because of his friend's great skill or to exhale a big sigh of relief knowing that Tyson wouldn't, at least he hoped not, launch the weapon of his choice.

Tyson's left hand gripped the handle of his launcher, directing it with great accuracy towards his friend. Two fingers looped around the end of the rip cord tightly, the boy's arm in position for a, if necessary, launch. He had great doubt that Kenny was stupid enough to dare a move, but in case he surprised him, his aim was centered to the right of Kenny. If fired, Dragoon would merely graze the wind beside the accused, enough for Kenny to feel it, and then ricochet against the classroom wall back to his possession.

Out of the corner of the navy haired boy's eyes he saw Hilary looking quite annoyed. It seemed he accidentally forgot to tell her this part of the plan; it only made sense to believe that she was now peeved off at that fact. Either that or she hated her arm being dragged around.

"Um… sorry?" Tyson whispered to her, deciding not to be specific as to why she may be angry.

Amazingly, she let it go, "Fine…."

"Can you do me a favour?" Tyson asked still using a hush tone while staring down a frozen solid Kenny. She was looking at him curiously when he continued, "Point to him."

"Why…?" Hilary frowned.

He barely glanced to her before he sighed, "Imagine I'm giving you a pleading look."

"I think you were dropped on your head as a young boy," Hilary stated, "Why didn't you just do that yourself?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Tyson shot back.

"Tyson, I asked two," Hilary rolled her eyes.

He decided not to comment to that, instead he answered, "If Kenny sees me change my emotions or even look away for more than a second he may take that as his chance to make a move."

"Uh… pardon the repetitiveness, but again I must ask, why?" Hilary questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? If I change my expression to something he may feel as weaker he might believe that I'm not taking this serious," Tyson explained further.

Hilary remained incredulous, "Are you serious?"

"Only two questions she says…," Tyson mocked.

"Are you telling me that if Kenny does as little as sneeze you're going to launch Dragoon… at him?" Hilary asked, completely ignoring his jibe in the process.

Tyson chose not to answer, instead he told her, "I have a plan."

"Great…," she mumbled.

"Eat your words," Tyson frowned.

"What…?" Hilary raised an eyebrow out of confusion, she then scowled, "Talk about rude."

Tyson restrained himself from rolling his eyes; they remained bearing in Kenny's direction. "What's in my hands?" he asked Hilary half heartedly. She examined the launcher gripped within his grasp before her eyes had cast back to Tyson. "Trust me."

Sighing, Hilary gave in and stretched out her index finger to point at the accused for whatever reason the capped boy wanted. "Imagine you're giving me a thankful look?" she wondered, he gave a slight nod.

"Kenny," Tyson raised his voice back to his usual speaking tone, though now it held a trace of an authority like persona. "You do what I say and no one gets hurt, okay?"

Gulping, the boy agreed, "Okay."

"So when you did hit your head, were you playing cops and robbers?" Hilary murmured curiously.

The navy haired boy decided not to comment, he chose to concentrate on the task at hand. "Tyson says, put your right hand on your head," he stated firstly.

Embarrassingly, Kenny had to take a moment to remember which side was right and which was left. He then placed the correct hand on top of his head, this made Tyson smile somewhat.

"Good," he told him, "Now, Tyson says, put your left hand on your head."

This time Kenny had seconds to ponder why he was talking about himself in the third person. He didn't bother questioning the _officer_, it was probably safer not to. The brown haired boy rested his other hand on his head.

"Jump on one leg," Tyson continued.

Letting out a depressed sigh, the genius began to hop on his right leg alone. Kenny wobbled from losing balance as he did so, yet somehow he managed to remain within these awkward conditions.

"I didn't say Tyson says!" the capped boy grinned.

Kenny immediately stopped, re-establishing his balance as his hands held the top of his head. He scowled at the humiliation and the quiet snickers of his classmates.

Hilary groaned using her free hand to cover her face from any shame Tyson could've possibly bestowed upon her. "And here I thought you were _somewhat_ maturing…."

"Oh, it was just a game," Tyson shrugged, oblivious to Kenny's sudden anger with him, "Kenny, take a seat."

The boy didn't move.

Frowning, Tyson repeated, "Kenny, sit down."

He remained still.

"Kenny, if you don't sit down…," Tyson warned.

"You didn't say Tyson says," Kenny snapped.

Glaring at the stubborn brown haired friend of his, Tyson pretended to pull back on the rip cord as if to initiate his beyblade's launch. Amazingly, Kenny took the bait and dived on the floor so that his head was brought to his knees. He was kneeling on the cool surface, his arms again protecting his head.

"What is up with you thinking I'm going to inflict damage on you?" Tyson frowned, shaking his head sadly, "Am I really that big of a jerk to you people?"

Hilary was the only one who remarked, "Do you honestly want an answer to that?"

The capped boy glared at Hilary as he pointed his launcher downwards, mostly for effect, in Kenny's direction. Upon seeing this, the brown haired boy gasped and rolled to his right and out of harm's way. Kenny was relieved to find himself under a desk and then he waited in silence.

Footsteps were approaching him, two pairs. The rubber from their soles making that unwanted squeaking sound upon arrival, which continued until it came to a halt. Kenny quaked under the shelter as his eyes came face to face with some very familiar looking shoes.

"Maybe if you don't move we won't see you," Tyson sighed at his friend's weak attempt at evading them.

Kenny, who still had his hands perched on top of his head, poked out slightly from under the desk, he peered up to an unimpressed Tyson and an annoyed looking Hilary. His attention paused at Hilary, "Why are you pointing at me?"

The brunette frowned at him, looking downwards. "Ask him that," she merely told him, letting her arm fall to her side.

Kenny had a feeling she was regarding to Tyson, so his gaze again fell to his friend, his seriousness never wavering. "Um… why was she pointing to me?" he questioned timidly.

"Effect," Tyson stated sheepishly.

Kenny then nodded, "So… can you stop pointing that at me?"

Tyson's attention was now concentrated on Dragoon. He stood in silence, just observing what laid in his hands, before reluctantly letting the launcher fall, in his grasp still, to his side.

"Get up," the capped boy commanded.

Tyson and Hilary took a step backward; this allowed Kenny to crawl out of his safety zone somewhat easily. The brown haired boy then stood up carefully and faced the pair awaiting further instructions.

Moving pass the boy somewhat, Tyson pulled out his chair and again stepped aside. "Take a seat Kenny," he said plainly.

Kenny nodded before sitting down on a plastic chair. He attempted to ignore their observing peers and teacher and focus on his delusional friend, but the humiliating sense of the scene wouldn't let him.

"Please put your feet on the desk," Tyson continued.

"Tyson!" Hilary scolded, causing Kenny to stop from going through with the condition.

"Hmm?" Tyson frowned, rubbing his chin in thought, "I can see your point. Kenny could you remove your shoes beforehand, we don't want to scuff the desk. They're impossible to get out!"

"Uh… sure," Kenny told him as he kicked off his black shoes. Then he rested his legs on top of the surface of the desk; if anyone didn't know any better, they'd think he was just relaxing. "Can I… ask you something?"

Tyson shrugged, "Sure."

"Why are my feet on the desk and my hands on my head?" Kenny asked curiously.

"Oh, so you don't try anything," the capped boy answered nonchalantly, almost as if he thought the question was quite obvious anyways.

Kenny gawked at them, "Y-you still think I did it…? B-but… why? I proved to you it couldn't be me, it wasn't me, honest. W-wait… you, H-Hilary…. You tricked me…."

Guilt had overcome Hilary because of her friend's devastated expression, contradicting the stern appearance she was expressing. "I'm sorry you're feelings are hurt Kenny, but so are ours," she stated.

"You're the one who was eager to give out information anyways, Chief. Hilary just asked you questions in a different format," Tyson smiled faintly.

With that reply, Kenny froze. He was no longer hurt by betrayal; he instead felt anger yet again towards his supposed best friend. His accomplices, as Hilary had put, were in the room, specifically just ahead of him desk wise, and had just heard Tyson imply Kenny had blabbed. Or in other words, he had just fed Kenny to the fire.

"Um… Tyson, Hilary, could I speak to you up here for a moment…? We need to discuss something," Miss Kincaid called to them, breaking up yet another strange scene courtesy of the handcuffed pair.

"Stay," the capped boy ordered Kenny, making him frown, as if he was a dog. Hilary smacked Tyson in the arm as they approached their teacher by her desk.

"So… how was it?" Miss Kincaid began.

Hilary summarized the event with one word, "Complicated."

"How about you, any leads?" Tyson wondered.

Miss Kincaid shook her head, "Searched every student's backpack _and_ had them empty their pockets. They don't have the key… but I can't let them go yet."

Tyson nodded understandingly, "Kenny told us he had four people help him – three guys and a girl. But he says he doesn't know their names."

"We can't blindly accuse people either," Hilary frowned, "And there's not much to go on to have a good assumption…."

"Why do you think he never took the time to know his help's names?" Tyson questioned his partner out of curiosity; she seemed to be good at reading people and giving explanations.

Hilary took a moment to think it over, "Well… the less you know about who you will have to cover for one day will make the lie you're telling seem truthful, due to obliviousness. Then again… maybe he's not the mastermind."

"You think someone hired him?" Tyson asked incredulous.

"Threatened," Hilary corrected, "But… I don't know it really could go either way. Kenny was either set up to take the fall or he was onto us when we thought we were being discreet."

"No way, he seemed too shocked to be pulling our legs," Tyson disagreed with her latter statement, "And it's not like the guy's an awesome actor or anything."

"I don't know…," Hilary smiled at him, "You said you weren't an actor at all, but I thought you were quite charming."

Tyson looked at the floor somewhat shyly, "Thanks Hil… wait, are you implying I'm only charming when I'm acting? Maybe I was for real."

"Are you saying what you said was the truth?" Hilary inquired, "Every single one of your remarks?"

Tyson nodded, "Yeah."

"Every single one?" Hilary repeated.

"Yes," he rolled his eyes.

"Thank you," she then beamed.

Tyson paused, "For what…?"

She smirked as she shrugged, "We have business to attend to; I'll tell you later."

Tyson frowned with annoyance, but soon let it go when he saw Miss Kincaid's inquisitive expression. "Anyways…," he began, changing the subject, "Like I was saying; it just can't be that he read us like a book. I mean you were amazing back there, you crumbled his defence by making it seem like you were building the structure."

"Um… thanks," Hilary smiled, feeling a combination of awe and embarrassment at the compliment.

"But you see, that's the problem," Tyson sighed out of frustration.

"What's the problem?" Hilary ventured.

"If he wasn't onto us, then he was taking the fall," Tyson stated, "But that couldn't be possible… he has to be the mastermind, who else has the motive?"

Hilary smiled still, very faintly, as she pointed out a certain fact. "You must've really loved my explanations quite a bit too totally disregard your own opinion."

"Exactly, _opinion_. Opinions are just like assumptions, well in this case anyways, they are not the truth. They need trust or evidence, and what already has both of those qualities? Explanations," Tyson explained.

Hilary nearly gawked, "Have you been paying attention?"

Tyson looked insulted as he told her, "We've been through this, I said I was going to take school more seriously."

Miss Kincaid jumped back into the conversation, she was stunned, "You are…?" She had to restrain herself from hugging the boy out of pure joy; if he began to take school more seriously, that would take care of so many of her problems. Well, as long as they were _just_ friends… otherwise it would be bickering in an even more emotional level. It wouldn't be, 'Why are you sleeping in class when you should be doing homework?' It would be, 'Why did you bring me tulips when you know I love roses?'

"Yes…," Tyson nodded, "Is it really so hard to believe that I want to do well in school? See, I even said 'well' instead of 'good', how was that?"

"But that also includes me just telling you something in general?" Hilary asked incredulous.

"Well, you're an important part of school for me," Tyson shrugged nonchalantly. But when Hilary's eyes brightened at the words and a smirk played on her lips, he soon tried to fix his stumble. "I meant… that… that you're important to me, at school, because I know that if I needed anything, help or whatnot, that you'll always be there. Because you're a friend… a really great friend," he covered lamely, and he then lightly punched Hilary's arm in a playful manner, "Keep up the good work."

She decided not to tease him; she could always do that later. "Thanks," she told him simply.

"No problem," Tyson nodded, "So… what were you getting at before anyways?"

"Oh, right, your opinion," Hilary remembered, she then continued from where she left off, "Earlier this week you told me the idea that Kenny was trying to exploit us."

"And he is," Tyson agreed.

"But you also kept using terms such as 'them' and 'they' in your opinion. You originally thought someone was pressuring him into these things, now you've changed your mind," Hilary stated, "Wait… before we found possible evidence that it was Kenny, why had you accused him?"

"Actually… I kind of just figured he would be ordered to do that," Tyson smiled weakly, "Don't be mad, but I was going on a gut feeling until I saw the paper."

Hilary frowned as she let out a tired sigh, "Your hypothesis doesn't match your procedure."

"So…?" Tyson asked.

"You tested Hydrogen using a glowing splint," Hilary attempted using an actual example from Science to explain the situation.

"Who's Hydrogen?" Tyson scowled, "I tested _Kenny_ using a _lamp_."

Miss Kincaid sighed sympathetically, "That wasn't one of his better tests, you should probably explain further…."

"Fine," Hilary said, "Tyson, let's say you had a test tube that contained an unknown gas."

Tyson quirked an eyebrow, "And I'd get this, how?"

"Does it really matter how?" Hilary snapped.

He nodded, "It would be helpful."

"Okay, fine…. Kenny bought it for you," Hilary shrugged nonchalantly, "And don't ask me why, I don't know. The point is, when you are testing for chemicals there are certain procedures. When you test for Hydrogen you use a flaming splint, when they make contact an explosion occurs."

"When did I do something wrong?" Tyson inquired.

"Well, your original hypothesis was that he was being put up to doing this," Hilary compared the ideas, "So when you questioned him as if you were sure he did things as the mastermind…."

"An explosion didn't go off," Tyson finished.

Hilary nodded, "You fumbled with the splints…."

"You still need a conclusion," Miss Kincaid added.

Tyson sighed, "But… how are we supposed to do that when we don't have all the information?"

"Forget Science for a moment, let's focus on Math," Miss Kincaid encouraged her students; she often felt she was a better teacher to a few rather than a large group, even if this few made her wary. "Tyson, what do you remember about probability?"

"Uh… that it's kind of the whole reason why we're being put through this in the first place?" he offered.

Miss Kincaid smiled awkwardly, "True… anything else?"

The capped boy paused to think back, his eyes ventured upwards as if the ceiling had answers. "Well… we need options to choose from…?" he guessed.

"Exactly," Miss Kincaid told him, "And what are your options this time?"

"We already figured that out," Tyson stated, "It's either he was the mastermind or he was put up to it."

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple Tyson," Miss Kincaid frowned, "Those are not the _only_ choices for your question. They happen to be the ones you want to hear."

"What do you mean?" Hilary asked.

Miss Kincaid found herself entering teacher mode, she picked up a piece of white chalk and drew a circle on the board. She then drew a single line down the middle of the circle, cutting it in half.

"Alright, let's say half of this circle is red and the other half is blue," Miss Kincaid explained, "If there was an arrow that could be spun on this circle, what is the chance of it landing on red?"

Tyson shrugged, "A good one…?"

"Try fifty percent," Hilary corrected.

"Equal chances," Miss Kincaid nodded in agreement, "Now, let's say we go back to a question that is a work in progress."

"You mean the Kenny thing?" Tyson wondered.

Miss Kincaid shook her head smiling, she continued, "The first question that was asked in the name of probability within the room. What are the chances of you two getting along if handcuffed? Is it impossible or is it certain you'll get along?"

"Neither really," Tyson pointed out, "I mean, we don't always fight, then again, we don't always get along."

"Right, Tyson. The question is too vast for the options," Miss Kincaid added, "So what is the question dealing with Kenny and what situation is it more like?"

"Well… the question is, does Kenny have the key? That question is more like the colour circle thing," Tyson answered, "But depending on the turn out, it can either be brought to more questions or just end."

Hilary nodded, "The next question would be dealing with what position was he in while he obtained the key. The options then would change. It could end up being that he was in charge, he took the fall, it was planned, etc."

Tyson frowned, "We can theorize all day, but how do we know what possibility is the answer?"

"It starts with a question, goes to a guess… later there's a conclusion," Miss Kincaid sighed, "Sound familiar? What part are you missing?"

Tyson scowled, "I'm thinking the answer…."

"That would be conclusion," Hilary rolled her eyes, "We need a proper procedure."

"I thought we were in Math," he said confused.

"Math and Science are related," Hilary stated.

Tyson thought the fact over, "Must be a _real_ fun family…."

"Anyways, the point is, even if the question only has two answers you still have to test, I guess, the question," Miss Kincaid continued.

"That's where the tally chart sometimes comes in?" Tyson questioned, "Like for us to figure out who's right when it comes to these handcuffs?"

"Right," their teacher agreed, "And this circle, it may have equal chances for the arrow to land on either colour, but what one will it land on more?"

"So what you're saying is that our first question may have nothing to do with our next one?" Hilary guessed.

"You got it," Miss Kincaid said, "Focus on one question at a time. Just spin that arrow to see if it lands on yes or no."

Tyson became perplexed, "I thought it was red and blue?"

"She was speaking figuratively, meaning that when we were 'spinning the arrow' it would actually stand for searching Kenny's backpack," Hilary sighed.

Tyson then took Hilary's hand into the comfort of his own; he began to drag her towards the awkwardly sitting boy in what was her desk. With determination in his eyes, he grinned, "Let's go spin us a Kenny!"

"What…?" Hilary questioned with befuddlement, "Tyson that made no sense."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Tyson apologized to Kenny, ignoring his partner's prior statement, "We're here to end this now… it's the moment of truth."

"Finally," the genius sighed. He nodded down to his side where a plain green backpack laid against the chair. "That's it."

Tyson picked up the item slowly, he eyed the bag suspiciously. "How do I know this thing isn't rigged?" he questioned with a frown, before he pushed it towards Hilary, "You open it."

"Gee Tyson, you're so brave," the brunette mocked, she refused taking the backpack, "I can see why girls swoon over you."

The capped boy sneered, "Fine, I'll do it…."

He carefully unzipped the backpack; the crowd leaned in with anticipation, their mouths hanging ajar in a gawking state. After Tyson successfully opened the object, he proceeded to remove his laptop and school books. It seemed nothing was inside when something caught his eye.

"Aha!"

Everyone gasped as the navy haired boy whipped out a small item, raising it high into the air for victory.

"Didn't do it he says! Then tell me Kenny, what's this?" Tyson beckoned, a grin plastered on his face as he shoved a key almost into the boy's face.

He didn't falter, "A house key."

Tyson paused at his words. He examined the key a few times and decided to test it out. He brought the key to his own side of the handcuffs; they remained locked. The hole was far too small for the apparent house key.

"Whoops?" he offered sheepishly.

Tyson put the key with Kenny's other belongings. Out of frustration, and possibly embarrassment, he turned the backpack upside down and began to shake it out. Hoping that something would fall out didn't seem to be working; he had almost lost faith when it happened… the sound of metal hitting the floor.

Immediately Tyson's eyes scoured the floor for the source of the sound, the search was harder than what he had hoped. Hilary was even looking around curiously; both were coming up empty handed.

Kenny wasn't even fazed, "It was probably just money…."

That's when their fellow classmates started helping with the search. Nothing could encourage people more like the thought of becoming richer.

"Oh my…," a sudden gasp escaped the lips of one of their fellow classmates. The pair's attention snapped to a boy who was kneeling on the ground in front of Kenny's desk, an almost pained expression was worn on his face. "Tyson…," the boy said sorrowfully as his hand stretched out to them, "Maybe you should see this…."

Tyson didn't leap in victory; he hadn't even cheered or pumped his fist into the air. In the palm of the boy's hand was a key he knew all to well. In silence he retrieved the key and gave a thankful nod of appreciation, and then he turned to face his _friend_.

Kenny lowered his hands from his head slowly, his feet met the floor again at the same pace, and all he did was stare. He knew no words could save him; he admitted the fact but would not recognize it willingly. His shoulders knew that it was now the time to slump; unlike his head, his gaze couldn't avoid his disappointed friends.

"As much as I wanted to find the key… I hoped more you were telling the truth," Hilary told him softly. She wasn't looking at him anymore, her attention was on Tyson.

The capped boy sighed, he glanced to the girl he was locked to for a second and then his gaze wandered over to Kenny again. "She means more to me than what you think…," Tyson stated, "So it hurts me more when you can't just be our friend."

That was all he said. Tyson gently tugged at Hilary's arm and led her towards Miss Kincaid; all the while the other students began to get ready to leave. Kenny overheard comments of disbelief and shock at the conclusion; he himself was in the same state. The boy sat lifelessly in the chair, his eyes travelling to a certain person.

To Tyson and Hilary, this boy was a saviour in their shackled nightmare. But to him, he was _completely_ something else.

To Kenny, he was the leader.

**A/N**: Amazingly a Beyblade actually made an appearance. I tend to usually focus on the characters rather than the sport. And hopefully the whole explaining of possibility and whatnot between Miss Kincaid, Hilary and Tyson weren't too confusing. I actually lost myself a few times when writing that part…. Well, please review!


	12. Chapter 11: Caged Boy, Not A Good Sign

**A/N**: Well… it's always good to know that I confused quite a bit of people using probability in the last chapter (sorry about that). Anyways, on a lighter note… somehow I've gotten over 100 reviews and I'm fairly confused as to how, but I'm very thankful to everyone! Speaking of which, I must extend more thanks to **Musee.Picasso**, **NKingy**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **fyrfly23**, **Jess**, **reebiegirl**, **shadowphoenix101**, **Shawn the Unfunny Joke**, **silverstar335**, **sakura's conscience**, **Thiaf**, **Kendo Baby**, **Muffinsweetz**, **vision-of-light** and **.w.a.t.e.r.m.i.r.a.l.** for the reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade, but that was probably a given.

Chapter Eleven: Caged Boy, Not A Good Sign

Miss Kincaid remembered a phrase she had once read; that when one had a fear, it was best to face it head on. She found herself approaching a part of her nightmares; the odd thing was, she felt more peculiar than scared. Her eyes, which had been cast down to the cement, reluctantly rose to her fear's façade.

"Here we are…."

The building loomed over her in a taunting manner. The doors looked much larger, yet so far away, when really they were mere feet apart from her. Windows, her own even, seemed dull and lifeless as if no lights were on, though, if she looked hard enough, they indeed were.

School had never been so scary before. She was dreading the moment she pulled the door open to walk inside. What would possibly be waiting for her?

"Kincaid, get a grip…," she mumbled to herself. Tilting her head upwards, she continued, "You knew today was coming… Friday always ends the week…."

The sky decided not to ease her troubles either. Clouds were gathering heavily, thick and dark puffs covered most of the space. Breaks between the masses had a troubling deep purple, which explained the lighter magenta lining of the clouds. Actually, the more Miss Kincaid viewed her surroundings, the more she saw a touch of purple to things.

This had bothered her further; it appeared that a bad storm would be coming soon. Miss Kincaid was never one for loud things….

Her hand found comfort on the bag she was carrying, it slung around one shoulder and hung by her hip. She patted the surface twice; she had made sure she was prepared for this day so that _nothing_ would surprise her.

Within the bag lied an extra case of chalk, just to be cautious, what if she didn't have enough of the substance to make the final line on the tally chart? Beside the chalk was her teacher's manual, which was tucked away safely in case she needed a moment for guidance, as well as the handcuffs and a couple spare keys, with repeat offenders and all, you were never too sure.

Miss Kincaid had the original key in a very safe spot though; it was put on a chain that was around her neck, as if it was a necklace. And even if she told herself it was still safe as it hung on the chain, her anxiety disagreed. That was the reason why she would reach for the silver key and hold it within her grasp every few moments.

There was one more item the young teacher was carrying around with her; it remained in a separate compartment on her shoulder bag. It was a gift from her mother, a brochure all about a nice university dedicated to dentistry. Miss Kincaid's mother had pushed it on her when she had last visited.

She had of course declined the idea the idea of quitting her job as a teacher; she insisted to her mother that the children she taught were very kind and insightful. Miss Kincaid could even remember telling her mom about a few of these students; how a brunette who won the class election by a landslide was very considerate and patient, while a navy haired boy who often wore a hat in class was determined to reach his goals. Unfortunately, the last time she saw her mother it had only been three days after she received the job.

Now as Miss Kincaid stared at the eerily purple shaded school, she made a silent promise to her nagging parent. In all honesty, she would consider the change in occupation if things did not go well.

"No time like the present…," was the weak attempt at a confidence boost she gave herself. Taking a few steps forward, her hand found the handle of the school's main entrance. She pulled the door open and was quickly bombarded by bright lights.

Miss Kincaid immediately squinted her eyes and held her arm in front of her face on instinct as she entered the building. She figured that it had been a lot darker outside than what she thought; especially to get this type of reaction out of her. Once her eyes adjusted she noticed another detail of the school.

Lowering her arm back to her sides, she began to walk down the desolate hallway towards the staircase. Not only did the school seem abandoned, but the lighting was quite odd. Everything seemed to be a shade of blue or have subtle tones of the colour.

Making her way to the staircase finally, Miss Kincaid rested her hand on the railing. She took a long glance over her shoulder, gazing at every spot of empty space and just waiting for something to saunter out of a doorway. Licking her lips, her attention switched to the stairs as she pushed paranoid thoughts away from her.

Miss Kincaid started to climb the staircase, one foot in front of the other in a steady pace. Lonesome stairs like these made her hate echoes; they taunted her with mind games. The sound of shoes against the cold surface would ring in her ears like the aftermath of a bell. It teased her to believe someone was behind her.

Again, anxiety got the best of her. She stopped abruptly, the sound catching in her ears mere seconds after. That was when she spun around, her eyes peering down the accented blue staircase… the colours a lot lighter at the bottom. She was ascending into darkness.

It took her a moment to convince herself she was completely fine, safe and most importantly alone. Her hand found the key on the chain and hugged it within its grasp. Everything would be fine, she took the precautions.

Miss Kincaid gradually began on the stairs again, her pace much slower. One foot would find closure and the other would follow, this occurred cautiously and quietly. She would of course check over her shoulder during the process, but as she got higher she realized the blue lighting was harder to identify.

Yet she knew when she arrived at the floor her classroom was on when the ground levelled off. She took a few steps forward again and was not comforted in the least bit.

Surrounding her was nearly complete darkness. The only touch of light she found was an illuminated sign that read the word 'exit.' Anything could've been lurking within the darkness and she was left hopeless, she wished silently that it was her mind deceiving her with false images and near silent sounds.

Her wish was never granted. A moan drowning with sorrow escaped into the air, and it wasn't her. Miss Kincaid stopped to listen more clearly, but the next sound caused her to tremble. Gurgling soon filled the air; something in the hall was slurping up some type of liquid, sounding quite inhuman.

Miss Kincaid could feel the notion to scream just sitting in her throat, taunting her like the school. Her mouth was hanging open, she pushed herself to do so, just as she was doing so to yell… but no sound came out. She forced the want with all her will; she could almost feel the red of her face as she pressed every hint of air to escape pass her lips, only to suffice with a mere whimper.

She soon tossed that idea out the window as she gasped for air. Choking down oxygen fairly quickly, she planned for a means of escape.

When her brain sent the message to her legs to run, the movements did not come. Miss Kincaid again had to force the command upon herself. She closed her eyes in concentration and mentally screamed at her body to move. Just as tears surfaced within her eyes, the process started to work.

Yet the movements felt so delayed, her actions were going through in slow motion. Her destination was quick steps away, but so far at this pace. She could almost feel the unknown in the hallway, approaching her on its own time.

Suddenly the delay vanished, the force of will made Miss Kincaid crash roughly against the wall. Flinching from the pain, she noticed the sound stop momentarily. Then there was a shuffle heard in the distance, the sound was against metal which clanged further.

She pressed herself against the cold wall. She may not know what this _thing_ was, but _it_ knew where she was. Its breath became uneven and low growls and moans were heard; all sounds courtesy of _it_ sounded hoarse and used… not to mention vengeful.

Miss Kincaid felt the wall with silence, her hand grazing a door knob. Letting out a sigh of relief, she opened the door and felt inside. Her back never left the wall as she found an object to assist her with the want of survival. Never had she been as happy for the Janitor's closet as now as she pulled out a mop for protection.

She gripped the mop's handle with both hands; holding it so hard that her knuckles became white. Her breath escaped her lips heavily as she panted, waiting for the moment this _thing_ struck. But nothing came, and she stood in silence.

The noise that this creature made remained, breaking the chance at silence. It did however tell Miss Kincaid that whatever _it_ was, _it_ wasn't moving. Of course not, _it_ dared her to try to take the upper hand; _it_ wanted her to believe in herself so that when _it_ won it was more devastating.

She needed better chances, and so Miss Kincaid shuffled herself against the wall in the direction back near the stairs. When she made it to the corner, she shakily removed one hand from the handle of the mop. Her fingers lightly brushed the wall's surface and quickly made contact with what she had been searching for.

Again, she had become thankful for such a simple thing. She successfully found the light switch for this floor, now her fingers fumbled over three individual switches. A bright light flashed before her eyes because of the motion, but lasted momentarily. The lighting dulled and flickered, nearly off, as it struggled to hold onto whatever energy it had left. Nonetheless, this was better than pure darkness.

Her eyes continued to play tricks on her, along with the sunspots and the strobe light like lighting of the hallway. She waved the mop in front of her wildly as images of shadows tried to grab her, the screams still would not come. A distant moan broke her out of her thoughts, the same inhuman distress.

Miss Kincaid settled down, she stopped whipping around her weapon threateningly. The images disappeared; her eyes once again had adjusted to unusual circumstances. Yet nothing normal, or expected, was in her range of sight.

The teacher approached _it_ cautiously and mop first. Not that the creature before her made her uneasy anymore, on the other hand, it puzzled her a great deal.

There was a title for things such as this. Phrases like, 'Red at night, sailor's delight; red in the morning, sailor's warning' or 'in like a lion, out like a lamb' often foretold events of the future. The title escaped her; yet as she looked at what was before her, she knew this would be added to the list.

Miss Kincaid stared at the scene before her in befuddlement as she approached; she muttered to herself a possible phrase of her own. "See a caged boy in the morning…? That's definitely a warning…."

Adjusting her glasses, she continued to look over what was before her. She didn't know _how_ it was possible, but a massive, metal cage was pushed against a wall right across from her classroom. Amazingly, that wasn't what surprised her. She was in awe at the fact that inside this cage was a boy; his hands gripped two of the bars that confined him within the box as he fell to his knees.

"K-Kenny… what are you doing in there?" Miss Kincaid questioned, her voice drowned with concern as she knelt on the floor as well. She attempted to read his shaken expression; his shoulders began to quiver as he prepared to speak.

The boy broke down further; emotional sobs took him over while he collapsed onto the metal flooring. "I-I… I didn't do it…," he stated, and then he shook his head, "I didn't do it."

"Kenny…," Miss Kincaid reached to grip a bar of the cage. The inhuman moans and growls had indeed been human, they were Kenny's emotional weeping.

At his name, the boy stood up briskly and turned away from his teacher. All of his cries had seized, instead he curled his fingers to make fists down at his sides.

"Revenge," he muttered sickly, "That's all they wanted…."

"They…?" she inquired.

"Tyson and Hilary, those four kids…," Kenny shrugged nonchalantly, before turning back to Miss Kincaid, "You…. Revenge… that's what it's all about, don't lie to yourself."

Miss Kincaid rose to her feet slowly, gripping the mop out of nerves. "What…?"

"Tyson and Hilary wanted revenge on me because I apparently betrayed them. Those four kids wanted revenge on me because…. Well, I don't want to sound redundant," Kenny scowled, "Then again… they wanted to get back at Tyson and Hilary for reasons beyond my knowledge. My assumption is as followed; they want to show that they shouldn't always get their way, which is where you come in…."

Miss Kincaid took a step backward, repeating the simple question, "What…?"

"They walk all over you, you were sick of it. I can totally understand they do it to me everyday…. But I'm sure you could tell that after yesterday's public display of _affection_," he sneered, "You knew their actual reasons for fighting, so you decided to play that to you're advantage…."

Her eyes darted around nervously, "What…?"

"Can you not form questions besides that?" Kenny snapped, causing Miss Kincaid to flinch. "Sorry…," he quickly added, "Being in a cage doesn't really boost your mood."

"I can imagine…," Miss Kincaid commented softly.

"Their screams and finger pointing, interruptions and objections, not to mention the embarrassment and pressure they bestowed upon you… was it all too much?" Kenny questioned, his voice careful with a trace of curiosity, "Was it so much that you would rely on revenge?"

She stared at the boy until _that_ had been too much, her eyes fell to the floor. "Why are you in this cage?" she inquired after a moment of silence, "Who would do this to you?"

"Does it really matter?" Kenny sighed as he began to pace within the cage.

"Yes," Miss Kincaid stated sternly, her head shot up to look at one of her best students, "It's not right."

Kenny paused dramatically, his head tilting in her direction with an unimpressed expression written all over it. "It doesn't matter who did this," he corrected, "And Miss Kincaid… don't be a hypocrite, how are you any better than them?"

"I would never…," she began to protest.

"Lock up a student…? No of course not," Kenny interrupted; sarcasm was deep in his voice. "Revenge, Miss Kincaid… only you know the truth."

She shook her head, "It wasn't for revenge…."

Kenny didn't seem to believe her, his expression didn't even register a change. He then pointed towards the classroom door. "Tyson and Hilary are in there if you want to talk to them," he offered plainly.

"Oh… uh yes," Miss Kincaid nodded, "Thank you."

Kenny returned the gesture rigidly, his attention wandered to the mop within her grasp. "Um… no problem," he replied somewhat confused, "Could you do me a favour?"

"Sure," she told him, acting casual as she hid the cleaning utensil behind her back.

"Could you ask one of them to refill my water bowl?" he smiled weakly, he received the dish and handed it to Miss Kincaid through the bars.

She let out a sigh, "That explains the gurgling…."

Kenny kicked the metal flooring, embarrassed; he tried to explain, "Kind of a messy task…."

"Well, at least they put your name on it," Miss Kincaid pointed out, "That's… _kind_ of nice of them."

"I thought so too, until I realized they had devised their plan to such a point it made me uncomfortable," he shrugged, "When you go _that_ insane over revenge, how can you be sure you were ever sane?"

Miss Kincaid shifted her way towards the door, "I'll… keep the door open when class starts so you can listen in."

Kenny didn't seem to take an interest in her anymore, his gaze wandered upwards towards the flickering lights in the distance. He mumbled a near incoherent, "Thank you."

The young teacher silently hoped that this wasn't just a vision of what the day would hold. She opened the door to her classroom reluctantly, poking her head in first. Thankfully, it appeared to be pretty normal within the room, no strange lights or caged boys. And with that thought, she entered the room and closed the door quietly; after all, class had not started yet.

Inside, just like Kenny had told her, Tyson and Hilary were the only students. Both seemed to be in their own worlds, and for once, it being a somewhat unusual scene this week, they were not beside one another. The brunette was sitting in what was Kenny's desk in the back, a school binder in front of her as she wrote vividly. Tyson on the other hand sat on top of a desk a few seats up, his attention directed on the eerie outside world that revealed itself through the window.

"Good morning Miss Kincaid," Hilary greeted her with a polite nod in acknowledgement.

Somewhat startled, she smiled weakly, "Oh… uh, good morning Hilary. How are you today?"

"Fine," she answered, adorning a small smile. She then turned to the capped boy, "Tyson, don't you want to say something to Miss Kincaid?"

"Huh…?" he replied dumbly, his head reluctantly faced the girl. Obviously being caught within a daydream, he stumbled to recover; he again switched his attention, "Morning…."

"Good morning to you too, Tyson," Miss Kincaid forced another smile as she made her way to her desk. She decided to drop the conversation with him there; she knew he wasn't much of a morning person.

Their interest seemed to have died when concerning their teacher, which made Miss Kincaid relieved, because they went back to what they had been doing. She took the opportunity to become settled; she removed the bag from her shoulder once she put down the bowl and leaned the mop against the wall.

"Hey Miss Kincaid, why are you carrying around a mop…?" Tyson questioned, his tone was laced with curiosity even if his gaze was looking through the glass of the window.

"Oh… um," Miss Kincaid stalled for time to think of a conveying lie, she didn't want to sound like the wimp she knew she semi was. "Well… you can never be too cautious when a mess may be on your hands, or should I say flooring… ha ha ha…."

Tyson and Hilary glanced to their teacher incredulously, the capped boy even quirked an eyebrow at the joke. Miss Kincaid continued to nervously laugh in a soft tone until it disappeared into silence.

"Good one Miss Kincaid," Tyson smiled, offering up a laugh out of sympathy, "You put the 'Ha' in Ha-larious!"

"Too bad it's not spelt that way…," Hilary sighed.

Tyson's expression crumbled to form a frown. "Uh… hate to break it to you Hil, but yeah it is."

"No Tyson, it's not. It's H-I-L… not H-A-L," Hilary spelt the beginning of the word for him.

The boy sighed, "So I guess you put the 'Hil' in Hil-arious, am I right?"

She seemed to think about that for a moment, her features became thoughtful. "I guess so…," she giggled somewhat at the detail, "You can't spell 'Hilarity' without Hilary."

Miss Kincaid noticed Tyson had turned perplexed.

"You just remove the 'it' and you get my name…," she continued, practically telling him why her joke was funny to no avail. "Oh… never mind…."

"Good, because that was awful," Tyson smirked.

"Yeah… well you… you put the 'Ty' in…," Hilary scowled to herself, unable to think of anything good, "In… typical…. You know if you… pronounce it totally wrong."

"Ow, Hilary," Tyson rolled his eyes, "You know, after today I'm really going to miss you jibes and lectures. Oh but wait… that happened before we were handcuffed to one another, guess I can't mourn that loss."

"Tyson," Miss Kincaid called upon him suddenly, not wanting the fight she managed to spring to go any further. He now looked at her expectantly; she continued, "Could you please open the window?"

Their somewhat irked dispositions vanished as Tyson and Hilary glanced to one another. "Are you sure that's a good idea Miss Kincaid?" the brunette voiced inquisitively.

"Yeah…," Tyson nodded, seemingly alarmed over the matter, "The purple may get inside."

"The… _purple_?" Miss Kincaid repeated skeptically.

The boy gestured for her to look out the window, which she did. He pointed towards the sky, "Worst purple I've ever seen… see it swirling up there? That can't be good."

"Tyson… I can understand your concern for rain or the wind to blow indoors, but a colour can't get inside through an open space," Miss Kincaid sighed.

She thought she had gotten through to him when he started to laugh. "Good one Miss Kincaid," he grinned, this time being sincere, "But purple clouds don't bring rain. They're just menacing… especially to buildings that contain motive deniers."

"Motive deniers…?" Miss Kincaid questioned.

"Relax Miss Kincaid, it's not like you've ever done something to get back at someone and told yourself a whole other story," Tyson shrugged, "Probably after Kenny… if he only told us the truth."

Hilary frowned sadly, "I wish it didn't turn out like this…."

Tyson approached the brunette and wrapped his arm around her. "Don't you worry Hil," he told her, "Everything will be alright… if there's anything you ever want to talk about…."

"I know Tyson," Hilary smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek, "I know."

A screaming pain jolted through Miss Kincaid's head at the moment, like massive alarms had went off. She consoled it with her hand, rubbing her temple with the use of her fingers.

"Miss Kincaid, are you okay?" Tyson asked with concern, his arm drifting off from its place around Hilary so he could take a few steps towards their teacher. "You don't look so good…."

"I'm fine… it's just I… remembered something," she answered softly; his expression was unbelieving, "Happens to me all the time."

Tyson contemplated this over before shrugging, "Well then… I'd hate to be you when that happens… does it hurt?"

"Hmm? Oh… oh, no," Miss Kincaid shook her head, obviously lying, "Not one bit, I'm quite used to it."

"So… what did you remember?" Hilary asked.

"Right… um, Kenny wanted to know something," Miss Kincaid stated, picking up the bowl off her desk for visual aid, "He wanted to know if one of you would mind refilling his water dish."

"Uh… okay, sure," Tyson shrugged nonchalantly, he reached for the item when Miss Kincaid pulled back abruptly. He looked at her confused, "Is there a problem?"

Their teacher frowned as she hid the object behind her back. "I'm very disappointed in you two," she told them straight out, "How could you put poor Kenny in a cage, regardless of yesterday's events?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Tyson repeated in a shocked chant, he gave her another puzzled look, "He said what now…? We did not put him in a cage; he was like that when we came."

Miss Kincaid stood sternly, "Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Did he really tell you that Hil and I did that to him?" Tyson frowned as he glanced back at his saddened partner. "I don't get it… he told you we did it?"

"Well…," Miss Kincaid paused, "Not exactly… he said they did it, they wanted revenge, etc."

"See, that proves it," Tyson smirked, "He calls his allies by the same name. They're the ones who did this to him… now, if you'll give me that bowl."

Miss Kincaid shook her head in refusal, "And what if he considers you _they_ and _them_ when he's with… the other them? I don't know for sure, but he did list you and Hilary, that other group of children and… and… someone else I can't recall…."

"Why was he listing us in the first place?" Hilary questioned as she stood up from her seat.

"I believe it was about whom wanted…," Miss Kincaid gulped, "Revenge…."

Tyson exchanged another glance with Hilary as she walked beside him. "So what do you think… friends' revenge or peers' revenge?"

"It could always be someone else's revenge," Hilary pointed out, crossing her arms in thought.

"Who else would stick Kenny in a cage?" Tyson sighed, "We do have a motive, as do the four kids he had helping him, but why would anyone else go through this much trouble?"

"Maybe this wasn't the case of revenge he was referring to…?" Hilary guessed with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Is that possible Miss Kincaid; is there another case of revenge going on within our classroom?" Tyson asked curiously, "Maybe that involves us…?"

The true answer to that was multiple, but she was not going to tell them that. "No," Miss Kincaid refused, "There are no other situations a brew because of revenge, this classroom is not _used_ for revenge."

Their curious and expectant expressions vanished into ones of seriousness that held a trace of incredulity. "Well Miss Kincaid," Hilary spoke up, her tone had lost any interest it may have held, "We should get on with the favour we've been asked of."

Tyson nodded in agreement, "Now if you'll give us the bowl…?" He held out his hand like a parent would when getting ready to confiscate one of their child's belongings. The persona he put on was the same, thus having the power over Miss Kincaid as she handed him the object.

As the plastic touched the capped boy's fingertips it seemed he had too became bored with their teacher. He sighed dully, taking hold of the item, "Come on, Hilary let's go."

The brunette simply nodded and the pair walked towards the classroom door. Miss Kincaid watched them, Hilary opening the door and stepping outside, the brief glance of Kenny within the flickering lights looking listlessly into nothing, and Tyson walking out into the hallway, only he turned back.

Before shutting the door, he smiled. A somewhat haunting smile that brought the same dread she felt right before she knew the key had gone missing. "Beware of purple…," he reminded before the click of the door had made him vanish from her sight.

Miss Kincaid let out a deep sigh, breaking the stillness of the room, as she retreated to her desk. Pulling out the swivel chair, she collapsed into it. The day had not even begun and she was already exhausted.

Her hand found the key on the chain unconsciously; grasping the metal eased her nerves. It was amazing how things that made no sense at all were what scared her most. Her grip on the silver item was so tight that she could almost feel the object beginning to crumble; she forced herself to stop.

She found herself watching the sky uncomfortably; the words Tyson said were stuck in her mind. She could not even begin to comprehend how clouds, that just so happen to be purple, were known for searching and haunting those who denied their motives. Yet she could not turn around from the various shades and possibilities, Miss Kincaid was entranced.

"Why so interested…?"

The young teacher jumped. She began to look around frantically for the person who held this voice, a much muffled voice… one she thought she knew well but couldn't place a name to it. The attempt was failed; no one was in the room… just her and the mop. Surely she wasn't that far gone….

"I'm sorry…?" Miss Kincaid frowned, eyeing the mop suspiciously.

"It's because you know the truth," the muffled voice continued. The statement was followed by movements near the back of the room; it sounded like someone was struggling within the cupboards that aligned against the back wall.

Miss Kincaid watched the scene before her blankly. After a few hard pounds against one of the cupboard's doors, it swung open as a boy crashed onto the floor. He yelped slightly on contact before standing up briskly, his hands dusting and smoothing off his clothing. He then resided his hands on his hips.

"You know the truth, don't you?" he repeated, acting as if his entrance had been flawless.

"What truth…?" Miss Kincaid questioned.

"The true reason why the purple clouds are here," another voice stated, bringing her attention to the right. With one quick movement, the curtains were whipped away revealing yet another boy. "It's not because of Kenny."

She stared at him weirdly, "What were you doing hiding in my curtains?"

The curtain boy pouted as he pointed to his friend. "You didn't mention him popping out of cupboards, I'm sure that doesn't happen everyday…."

"That's true," Miss Kincaid nodded thoughtfully, "But I didn't want to hurt his feelings… he fumbled his entrance and all."

"Aww, thanks Miss Kincaid," the cupboard boy smiled, "I'm going to bring you an apple on Monday."

She smiled back, "Oh you shouldn't, thank you though."

"Courtesy for courtesy," the cupboard boy waved his hand freely, he then paused to think, "Wait… what were we talking about?"

Curtain boy spoke up, "The truth of the clouds."

"And why you're the reason they're here Miss Kincaid," yet another voice entered the conversation. A head popped out from around a filing cabinet that was against the far left wall near the back.

The cupboard and curtain boys looked at each other unimpressed. "_That's_ where you hid…?"

File cabinet boy scowled at his partners, "You guys took all the good hiding places! What was I supposed to do, put a lamp shade on my head and pretend I'm a… well a lamp?"

"Classic…," curtain boy laughed.

Cupboard boy merely rolled his eyes, his attention now back on Miss Kincaid. "Do you get what we're trying to say?" he wondered, "You know… through the interruptions?"

"I think so…," Miss Kincaid shrugged.

"Then we'll just have a recap to be safe…," he decided, coughing loudly into his closed fist.

The weird thing was, nobody made a move to actually restate anything. That is until someone tapped lightly on Miss Kincaid's knee, causing her to jump yet again. She pushed her chair back to see a girl crouched under her desk, which waved wearing an awkward smile.

"Hey there… can you believe I didn't even stop to think you'd sit down…?" the girl laughed faintly. Miss Kincaid offered a weak smile as she got out of her chair and proceeded to pull it out of the way. From this action the girl was able to scramble her way out of her hiding place and stand at the head of the class. "Thanks…."

"Anytime," Miss Kincaid shrugged.

Cupboard boy exhaled a deep sigh of frustration. "Recap please…," he reminded, holding the bridge of his nose with his hand out of annoyance.

"Oh… right. Miss Kincaid, only you know the truth as to why these purple clouds are surrounding our fair school. They seek motive deniers and you've… well obviously, denied your motives. Motives based on… uh… based on…? Okay, okay… I know this, it's sitting on the tip of my tongue…," the girl scowled as she suddenly looked at the palm of her hand. Squinting, she beckoned closer to her palm, "Based on… beverage? That doesn't sound right to me…."

"That's because it's not," curtain boy sighed, "Based on revenge… motives based on revenge. How awful is your handwriting?"

"Oh yeah, well how awful is your shut-up?" the girl stuck out her tongue childishly.

"Silence!" cupboard boy screamed, and then he took a deep breath. "I'll take over from there…. You see Miss Kincaid, you caused those menacing clouds… you've caused a lot of pain, think of poor Kenny."

"I didn't do anything to Kenny," Miss Kincaid told them, "He could possibly be locked up out there because of you."

"Why, because he mentioned us?" file cabinet boy smirked, coming fully out of his hiding place. "The four kids strike again… yeah, we're pure evil. How do _we_ know _you_ didn't do it…? He said your name too, but of course you didn't mention that to Tyson and Hilary."

"Why was that Miss Kincaid?" curtain boy frowned, "Was it that you didn't want their opinion of you to change or… you didn't want them to find out you actually did it?"

"I didn't do it," Miss Kincaid stated.

The girl shook her head sadly, "Another motive denied…."

"Miss Kincaid, everything that's happened this week can trace back to one single moment where you decided you've had enough," cupboard boy sighed sympathetically, "So you calculated and imagined and went into every little detail and explored them until depths became simple."

She shook her head, "No… I didn't…."

"You _knew_ they fought so heatedly not because they hated one another, no on the contrary… you could see their emotions, the ones they tried so hard to hide," cupboard boy continued, "When you play with people's emotions, a very strong and powerful weapon, they're easier to control. So you chose to play that to your advantage."

"W-what are you talking about…?" Miss Kincaid asked.

"Tyson and Hilary are both very emotional people. Get them riled up, expect them to snap back. Make them upset, they can sure hold a grudge. Put them in a position where they have to get along, they'll go through the lengths," cupboard boy shrugged, "You knew if you pushed them, they'd push back… right into each other's arms."

"But you didn't know something," curtain boy added with a shrug, "Love's definition changes for each couple, you figured that when they discovered their feelings all arguments would seize. Then you saw the horror… when they were genuine, lover's quarrels were a norm."

"That may be true…," Miss Kincaid said softly, "But how is that revenge…? I didn't do it for revenge… I was trying to help."

"Were you Miss Kincaid?" the cupboard boy scoffed, "You just couldn't wait to see them happy and together? Or did you want to see their fear, their displeasure at constantly being around the one person who makes them uncomfortable regardless of the fact that they've known each other forever? The latter is most likely…."

She gulped nervously, "No…."

"Revenge Miss Kincaid," cupboard boy smirked knowingly, he shook his head slowly, "Teacher's revenge."

"You know what love can do to people…," the girl sighed dreamily.

"Can't eat," pointed out file cabinet boy.

"Can't sleep," added curtain boy.

Cupboard boy frowned, "Killing off Tyson practically…."

"Which gets rid of Hilary's greatest pet peeve," the girl said, "All problems fixed: Tyson's normal, Hilary's calm, Miss Kincaid can teach without interruptions. Sounds like a good plan to me."

"But did you ever think about the other students?" cupboard boy questioned as he snapped his fingers.

Moments later the classroom door opened, the children she taught began to enter. They swayed left and right as they walked into the room, dull expressions worn on their faces. These children did not approach their desks; they instead made a semi circle around Miss Kincaid. None of them made a sound; they just stared at her with little interest.

The boy who had tumbled his way out of the cupboard now pushed himself to the head of the crowd. A near sneer was expressed on his face, "You ruined the game."

"You ruined the game…," was repeated in a unified chant, one that sounded bored stiff.

"Over revenge," the boy continued, making a fist.

The chant obeyed, "Over revenge…."

He then pumped his fist into the air, "And now you shall pay!"

Suddenly the crowd became lively, their eyes gleamed with anger. "And now you shall pay…."

Miss Kincaid pressed herself against the wall as the crowd of students began to enclose on her, breathing the words the boy had proclaimed. These kids were now ridden with reasons to hate, scowls embraced their features.

The teacher fell to her knees, watching the lead four kids become absorbed into the mass of students. She recoiled, curling herself into a ball, protecting herself with her arms as they crept closer and closer.

"Please don't let them get me, please don't let them get me, please don't let them get me…!"

Her wishes died in their own chants; their vocals being much louder and their uncaring grudge continued on, just as they paced closer and closer.

Closer and closer….

"NO!"

A shrill scream finally broke into the air since she had arrived at the school. And yet… it just made her feel stranger. Terror was running through her veins, throbbing harder with every beat of the heart, as she opened her once closed eyes. The sight confused her; it made no sense.

"And good morning folks on this Friday, let's all have a good one. The weather is agreeing with us yet again, isn't that right Phil?"

Miss Kincaid jumped at the voice as she whipped around to stare brazenly at what was before her. A small, simple alarm clock set on a station which was now telling her the weather outside. She wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry, even if she was too stunned to do either.

"It was a dream…."

The comforting words never seemed to work, she was still surprised she attempted them still. Everything was all too similar… the cold sweat that weighed in her palms, the unsettled breathing that accompanied uncertain glances around the room and of course the realization. Fear had already been set in, yet Friday had not even begun.

Swinging her feet over the edge of her bed, her skin met the carpet. She sat a moment, letting things sink in. Through the familiarities there was one difference, the dream. It was new and unknown and most of all, it scared her. Here she was, hating monotony in reality and wanting consistency in dreams.

She listened to Phil, the weather guy, banter on about bright skies and a cloudless day as she found herself untrusting. So like the anxious young woman she was, she stealthily approached the window of her bedroom. Pulling on the draw string, the curtains pulled apart revealing the outside world.

Miss Kincaid went to reach for the key on the chain, to grasp the metal for ease. But when her fingers merely felt air, she ridiculed herself. There was no key because it was all a dream, and this window proved it.

Not a single purple cloud was in sight, decorating the sky in its menacing ways of torment. Though she told herself it was okay to be a little cautious right before uttering words she had believed were lies.

"It was for revenge…."

**A/N**: And it was all a dream… amazing what fear and the conscience can do when they work together. Anyways, I'm sure a lot of you caught on to the fact that this wasn't reality… you know with the whole Kenny in a cage thing, the inability to move at a normal pace, the weird lighting everywhere she went, etc. Nonetheless, it was fun to write. Don't forget to review!


	13. Chapter 12: Geniuses Don't Have

**A/N:** So I finally decided to update… a few days short of a month, I've just been a little preoccupied to edit (hopefully there's not a lot of mistakes) lately. The chapter has actually been done for about a week or so… yeah, blame school. Anyways, I want to give thanks to those who took the time to review; thanks to **Moonlight Serenity**, **Musee.Picasso**, **shadowphoenix101**, **Shawn the Unfunny Joke**, **NKingy**, **Moonlit Darkness**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Kendo Baby** and **Plushie-Sensei**.

**Disclaimer**: I'm going to let you in on a secret… I don't own Beyblade.

Chapter Twelve: Geniuses Don't Have All The Answers

"Kenny, for the last time, come downstairs this instant, you're going to school," the male brunette groaned at the sound of his mother's voice echoing up the staircase. "I think you're exaggerating the whole situation, besides, it's the last day of the week… how bad could it be?"

"But mom…!" Kenny whined in protest. Nonetheless, he prepared his school supplies for the day, already knowing he wouldn't win.

"There's a nice boy waiting for you anyways dear, says he's from your class, you two might as well walk together. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Kenny frowned as he slipped on the green backpack, he did not have a clue as to who would possibly be waiting for him. Seeing how his mother only knew two people in his class, that being his two friends, if they still were his friends; it could be quite a few people.

"Kenneth, if you don't come down these stairs by the count of three, I'm coming up. One… two…."

He nearly tripped as he sped down the stairs; his hand caught the railing on instinct. Continuing to frown, he went on his way to the main floor, which was also his parents' noodle shop. Upon entering he saw his father beginning the morning set-up of the restaurant, his mother glaring at him unimpressed and one boy who was all too familiar with his fake smile.

"Oh, it's you…," Kenny deadpanned.

His mother was aghast, "Excuse me, young man? You do not treat classmates like that, especially when they're guests in our home. Kenny, you apologize right now."

The brunette's shoulders slumped as he gave his mom a pleading look; she on the other hand was stern. "Fine… I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"That's alright," their guest shrugged nonchalantly, "I just stopped by to see if Kenny maybe wanted to hang around with a _few_ of my closest friends, would that be alright with you Miss? I mean surely as his older sister you can vouch for your parents."

Kenny's mouth gaped open while his mother giggled away at the comment. She waved her hand grinning, "Oh stop! Of course Kenny can go with you and your friends; you stop by again, anytime."

"I'll be sure to do so," he stated, wearing the same sly smile, "Just promise me you'll be working the counter." With that, he gave Kenny's mom a wink before opening the door for the genius. "We don't want to keep _them_ waiting."

"You're feeding me to sharks…," he grumbled to his mother as he sulked his way to the door reluctantly.

She merely gave him an odd look; she was quite smitten with this boy her son seemed to have a problem with. "A smile can do wonders, honey."

Kenny had just reached the doorway when she said that. He twisted his head to the side so he could see her, "How is that supposed to help…?"

"Don't question a mother's advice," the boy told him, his hand gripping his shoulder to pull Kenny out of the noodle shop, "See you later Ma'am, and have a lovely day."

"Goodbye boys, have a nice time at school," Kenny's mom smiled at the departing children as they closed the door behind them.

Kenny stared in silence at the boy, whom he knew more commonly as the leader, as they stood just outside the restaurant. He scowled at the genius, having been somewhat uncomfortable by the unknown gaze. "What?"

"Were you just hitting on my mom…?" the brunette questioned with a frown, "Why were you hitting on my mom…? She's my _mom_…!"

"I get the point," the leader rolled his eyes. Shrugging his shoulders, he continued, "I was just being nice, not to mention careful. Seeing how you go around telling people how bad my friends and I are, I probably should be."

Fixing his glasses while he gathered his thoughts, he sighed. "Right uh… listen, we need to talk," Kenny told him, fidgeting somewhat.

"Not here we're not," the leader shook his head in disagreement, "It's not secure here; we'll talk when we meet up with the others. Come on…."

"Well… I… don't know," Kenny said, unsure if he should follow him or not. "How do I know I can trust you…? I mean, you must be pretty angry with me…."

The boy quirked an eyebrow, "Were you going to try your luck with Tyson and Hilary? I can guarantee you they're probably a little more miffed than us… I mean, betrayal from a friend… ouch, that must sting."

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" Kenny snapped.

"I didn't," the leader stated, "I merely put a key in their hands. You should've been more co-operative."

He began to walk away, knowing that Kenny would follow him after the jibe, which was what he did. Flailing his arms as he trailed behind, trying to explain everything. "I didn't have the key and you know it!" the brunette exclaimed accusingly, "You just so happened to be the one to find the key… do you expect me to believe that?"

"No, I expect you accept that," the leader said plainly, "We'll talk later about this whole… situation."

"I want to talk now," Kenny protested.

"And I want my socks to match, but you don't see me complaining," the leader sighed, "We're almost there anyways… think you can shut-up for a few more minutes?"

"Where are we going?" Kenny asked curiously, his eyes glancing to the other boy's feet to see if he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, he was unable to see; who would lie about their socks though?

"Guess not…," he frowned.

"Huh?" Kenny questioned confused.

"Well I just asked you if you could be quiet for the rest of the way and you just proved that obviously you cannot," he told him.

Kenny nodded, "Oh."

"For a genius, you sure are slow," the boy pointed out with a frown, "Maybe you're overrated…."

"I am not," Kenny scowled, "So can you tell me where we are going, it would be nice to know nothing bad is going to happen to me. I mean… I'm going to get a chance to speak, right?"

"You could sing for all I care," the leader shrugged nonchalantly, "What makes you think we're going to hurt you? I have to go with Tyson, much to my dismay, on that you have some serious trust issues."

"You and Tyson have more in common than you think," Kenny snapped, "You're both clearly insane over winning. I mean, come on… it's just a game!"

"You mean a lot of things…," the leader said, "But it's not a game… it's math! Since when does Tyson fight for his marks?"

"Since… he's started giving them names?" Kenny guessed lamely.

"What is up with that anyways? Who names a line made out of chalk?" the leader inquired, "That's like… wait, this doesn't even matter. Wrong kind of marks, I meant grades."

"We'll talk later about this whole… situation," Kenny stated mockingly, "If I'm not getting answers than neither are you."

He simply smiled at the remark, "Well… we're almost there anyways, it's just up ahead."

"But… we're just in the park," Kenny replied confused, looking around the familiar surroundings. And straight ahead of them was merely a bench with three, also familiar, faces around it. "How is this secure?"

"Does it scream suspicious?" one of the other boys wondered out loud, hearing Kenny's question as the two of them approached.

The sole girl rolled her eyes, "No, benches can't talk… _stupid_." She was the only one who was sitting on the wooden object; a note pad and pen were within her grasp as if she was ready to write at any moment.

"Why are we friends with her again?" the same boy frowned at the female from his position on the grass. His legs were sprawled out in front of him as he leaned back, his weight on his palms.

"Calm down," the last boy of the group ordered, he had been pacing until Kenny arrived, "Right, boss?"

"It would be nice," the leader said, before waving his arm out towards the bench, "Kenny, please sit down, we have a lot to talk about."

The genius nodded in agreement as he sat down. Almost immediately after the girl turned towards him; note book flipped open, pen drawn and then she waited. The brunette felt uncomfortable by the way she was just staring at him, so he shifted slightly further down the bench.

The boy who was sitting on the grass thought this was hilarious for some reason, and he keeled over backwards laughing. "Oh that's great…," the boy giggled to himself, "She doesn't even have to say anything and she scares off boys."

"What, do you think I have cooties or something? Am I going to get my girly germs on you because we're sitting beside one another?" the girl glared at Kenny angrily, ignoring her friend on the ground. "Aren't you a little old to believe that junk? What's your problem anyways?"

"I… I didn't mean it like that… I was just… I…. You see… it's like this…," Kenny stammered, not knowing what he should say exactly.

"Spit it out," the girl demanded.

Kenny squirmed uncomfortably, waiting for the words to come to his head, preferably ones that would not make her more annoyed than she already was. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder; it seemed the boy who had been lying on the grass laughing hysterically now wanted to help him. He cupped a hand around Kenny's ear and whispered some words of advice before sitting back to enjoy the show.

Without thinking, the genius immediately told the girl what he was told to say. "I love you…?"

The girl's disposition vanished, being replaced by surprise. "Um… I'm sorry?" she asked perplexed, not knowing if she had heard right, "Did you just say you loved me…?"

"No!" Kenny blurted out embarrassed, and irked at the boy who was again laughing. "Well yes… I did… but it's not like I meant it…."

"Oh… so you just go around telling girls you love them for fun? Was that all I was to you?" the girl frowned, "Am I just another pawn in your game to laugh about? Well ha ha Kenny, ha ha."

The genius wasn't too sure what to say this time either, but he intended to keep his mouth shut. He looked at the other members of the group for some type of help, like a change in subject.

The leader seemed to have read Kenny's mind, because he cleared his throat loudly before beginning to speak. "Don't scare our friends please…," he stated with his attention on the girl.

She pouted, "I say we just kick him out of the group once and for all…."

"When was I ever in your group?" Kenny asked doubtfully.

"What are you talking about, how about all of those photographs we have together as a group?" the boy who had been pacing questioned.

"And the times we spent talking in class and hanging out?" the boy on the grass pointed out.

"What about the laughs?" the leader smiled.

"The smiles?" the last boy added.

"The memories?" grass boy grinned.

"The heart break…," the girl sobbed.

"What are _you_ talking about?" Kenny wondered dubiously, "Those were class pictures. They were threats and schemes. You were laughing at me. Your smiles are all lies and I have no clue what memories you're talking about."

"And the heart break…?" the girl inquired curiously, "Don't you dare disregard the words you told me, you know what you did."

"He told me what to say!" Kenny pointed towards the boy on the ground, "For all I know, he loves you!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" grass boy practically shrieked, waving his arms in front of him as if to tell him to stop, "Watch what you say there, I don't know if you noticed… but she's not exactly what we like to call sane."

"Ahem!" the leader cleared his throat loudly before the girl got a chance to open her mouth. Everyone watched him in silence, waiting for the moment they would actually discuss something important. "Thank you…. Now, we have a limited time, seeing how school will be starting in a while, and we have some stuff we need to take care of."

Kenny immediately spoke up, "So I can talk now?"

"No, we'll go first," the leader told him.

"What?" Kenny scowled, "How is that fair?"

"Hey, his socks don't match, but you don't see him complaining," grass boy sighed, "I think maybe you could learn something from him…."

"What is that… breaking news to you people?" Kenny asked incredulously, "Seriously, I think being blamed for a crime you haven't committed is a little more tragic than mismatched socks."

"Fine Kenny, you can bombard us with accusations and questions first," the leader smiled as he gave a simple shrug, "I think you need a little closure with the… situation."

"Stop calling it a situation, it's a crime," Kenny told him, glancing to the girl who was now busy writing stuff down into the notebook. "What is she doing?"

"_She_ is writing down whatever you say in case he needs it read back to him," the girl snapped, "So now you can't even talk directly to me? What are you, intimidated by me?"

Kenny sulked back somewhat, "A little…."

"Oh…," she said with a frown, her voice became full of concern and had an apologetic trace to it. "I'm _so_ sorry… do you need a hug?"

"Um… no," Kenny shook his head, "Uh… thanks for the offer though…."

"May I say something, Kenny?" the leader asked, wearing a friendly smile as he folded his hands in front of him. "If you wouldn't mind, that is."

"Sure, go ahead," the brunette nodded.

"I wouldn't lie to us if I were you. You know, in case you were thinking about changing the story when you left with Tyson and Hilary for a while. We know everything that went down to that room, we have a very good inside man who's been helping us out this week," the leader smirked, "He gave us theories and explanations."

Kenny leaned forward in awe, "You had another spy?"

"No," the boy who was standing shook his head.

"But… I haven't told you anything yet… how could you possibly know what happened…," the genius said in wonder, "I think you're bluffing."

"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny…," the leader sighed dramatically as he shook his head. He clamped one of his hands down on the boy's shoulder before tugging at the tie, "We listened in; you've been wearing that spy equipment since we gave it to you."

"Oh… so you guys know that Hilary tricked me into telling them everything?" Kenny asked.

"We know that you tried to blame everything on us, if that's what you mean," grass boy frowned, "Get mad at them for accusing you then you go and accuse us? Where was your evidence?"

"What about pinpointing the evidence on me with that letter?" Kenny shot back.

"Oh you're so right," grass boy spat sarcastically, "A computer being used in this century, it could only be one person in the world! And what a coincidence, he's also a student in our classroom…. Give me a break; we were trying to hide our handwriting from our teacher. I thought you were supposed to be a genius?"

Kenny was taken back, "I never… thought of that. I sort of just assumed you were trying to trick everyone to believe it was me… which was what happened."

"We were forced to do that," the girl sighed, "You see, we were hoping Miss Kincaid would've found out the key went missing _after_ the bell rang and we were long gone. Unfortunately, she was quite out of character… understandable when put with the situation."

"So we had to alter our plan," grass boy continued their tale, "We had to shift the blame onto someone else… someone who was believable."

"You promised me in the beginning that I didn't have to hurt my friend's trust… now look what happened," Kenny stated, "They'll never speak to me again; you saw how they were yesterday."

"I'm sorry about the position we put you in Kenny, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. Believe me, the twists we caused yesterday may be our downfall," the leader crossed his arms as he wore a frown.

"What do you mean?" the boy who was standing questioned, worry was evident in his voice.

"They've become close… a lot closer since the ordeal you managed to put them through," Kenny answered for the leader. "So much for your plan, you're worried you're going to lose today, right?"

"I'm not worried," he said, "They will not win."

"Hey, um… if you weren't going to take the key and blame it on me… what _were_ you going to do with it?" Kenny asked curiously.

The leader shrugged, "Destroy it."

"D-Destroy… it…?" Kenny repeated skeptically, "But how would they be free from one another?"

"That's the whole point," grass boy smiled, "Their little act would fall to pieces. They may be good at spending a school day together now, but how well do you think it will go if it lasts longer than that?"

Kenny sighed, "I don't know… they may not even be pretending anymore. A bead of sweat hadn't even formed on their foreheads…. On the other hand, they kept giving each other these looks."

"Aww!" the girl cooed.

Her three friends gave her a glare.

"I mean… boo!"

"What… kind of looks?" the leader inquired.

Kenny shrugged, "I don't know… weird ones."

"Wow… your specifics on the subject are amazing," he frowned, "Looks or no looks; they were at odds with one another off and on after hours. What do you say to that?"

"Let me introduce you to Tyson and Hilary 101," Kenny stated, "Key word, fights. You seem to be under the impression that every time they fight it's under the same circumstances and standards."

"It's not…?" the girl asked dumbfounded.

"Write this down," he simply told her as he stood up from his spot on the bench. "Lesson one: Identify who is angry and/or sad."

"Yesterday?" grass boy scratched his head in thought, "Well… Tyson seemed to have something bugging him."

"When Tyson holds this position it's usually for something he blows out of proportion. _Only_ in this situation is this the case, Tyson can be very hard to deal with when it comes to beyblading and it's usually for an important reason. So really, Hilary knows how to get him riled up for absolutely no reason," Kenny explained.

"And what if Hilary takes this spot?" the last boy questioned.

"Well, like I'm sure most would assume, it's because Tyson has done something utterly stupid," he answered, "This would the stereotype of their fights. Not _all_ of their fights occur this way, but _most_ do… so naturally, one gets the assumption that it's how their world works."

The leader nodded, "I see."

"Lesson two: Identify the aggressor," Kenny continued.

"That would have to be Hilary if we use the example, right?" grass boy wondered.

"Exactly," Kenny smiled, "When Hilary is the one to hurt Tyson's feelings… well it's kind of hard to explain. You see, when Tyson is angry, it blows over pretty fast; same goes for Hilary. But when he's upset… well, you know she must've made him re-evaluate something in his mind. Anyways, if he does this, it's probably because it affected their… relationship… personally or something."

"So every time Hil gets under his skin to such a degree he does some soul searching?" the leader said incredulously, "Does she do something similar?"

"Firstly, on a side not and warning, never call Hilary 'Hil' unless you want to be smacked outside the head. The only person allowed to utter that word freely is Tyson, and rarely me and a few others," Kenny told him.

"Uh huh…," the leader shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don't believe me, then try so yourself later today," Kenny shook his head, and then he continued, "When Tyson hurts Hilary she just tends to avoid the problem. That usually means keeping away from him whenever she's able to, then again… when she's upset, it's because he's been pretty stupid. I wouldn't say she's re-evaluating anything, maybe just questioning the… relationship or whatever, that she has with Tyson in the first place."

"Why do you keep saying relationship?" grass boy asked.

"Hate it or love it, they have one," Kenny stated, "Be it close friendship or more, we have to deal with it."

"Are there any more lessons?" the girl inquired.

"Lesson three: The outcome," Kenny said, "There's somewhat of a pattern here. When Tyson is the aggressor the relationship takes a step backwards, but when Hilary is the aggressor that's a step forward."

"How come?" the last boy spoke up.

"Re-evaluation gives you a better understanding on a concept and where one is. So if Tyson is able to affect his relationship by thinking over the new information, it's going to help him somehow," the genius explained, "Questioning the unknown doesn't do anything though, it probably just hands Hilary doubt."

"So they take more steps backwards than forwards?" the leader smiled, "Well, that's good for us."

Kenny disagreed, "You wish."

"What?" the four kids asked.

"It's… probably a two to one ratio," Kenny guessed with a shrug, "If we were to say for every two fights that were Tyson's fault there would be one Hilary was to blame. Even so, we don't have all the variables."

"We're still missing a factor?" the girl wondered curiously.

Kenny nodded, "Lesson four: The situation. Boy, am I sick of that word…. The outcome is only _sometimes_ a pattern. It really depends on what the cause is; for example, Tyson ripped a training schedule Hilary worked hard on… amazingly, that did wonders on their relationship."

"What's that got to do with yesterday's events?" the leader demanded impatiently.

"That has everything to do with this whole week," Kenny stated, "Don't you see, the situation Miss Kincaid put them in has made them re-establish their relationship maturely, also known as when Hilary is the aggressor."

"I don't get it…," grass boy frowned.

The girl's eyes lit up knowingly, "You mean… we're pushing them forward with our plans; we're making them closer ourselves."

"Exactly," Kenny smiled, "Miss Kincaid's plan, which I'm sure was to make them better friends, is working better than she probably expected. The handcuffs were sure to get them to argue, sort things out and… ta-da!"

The girl nodded, "One step closer!"

"Whose side are you on…?" the leader sighed.

"Oh right…," the girl said sheepishly, "Sorry about that… kind of got carried away…."

"You wanted to know why Tyson cared so much about grades now, right?" Kenny asked the leader, "I don't think you'll like the answer."

"I don't like a lot of things," he retorted.

"Okay then…," the genius said, "He may not care about marks, but he does care about Hilary. Plus, he'll do anything for a friend… so you can imagine."

"And here I thought you were going to go into detail," the leader smirked.

"I'm just saying… you may think of Tyson as a slacker, or a jerk, or maybe even a self absorbed jock, but he's not," Kenny shrugged, "He may sometimes look like that, but he's a compassionate person who cares a lot about people."

Grass boy looked thoughtfully to the leader, "Tyson was pretty concerned when Hilary lost one of her stickers; he was willing to give up one of his few just so she'd be the best again."

The other boy nodded eagerly, "And when he was willing to look like a wishy-washy boyfriend for the sake of winning and putting on a good show."

"Oh!" the girl jumped in with an example of her own, "When Tyson decided he was just going to be there for Hilary when we caused that whole mess yesterday. He was pretty protective of her when he found out Kenny did it."

"I didn't do it," the genius remarked.

"Fine…," the girl rolled his eyes, "He was pretty protective of her when he _thought_ he found out Kenny did it…."

The brunette smiled, "Thank you."

"Alright, whatever," the leader sighed, "Are we done now?"

"But… you didn't even ask me anything," Kenny said.

"You answered enough," the leader told him plainly.

"So you guys have just given up on winning with devious plans, right? You're just going to let things flow like they're supposed to," Kenny asked hopefully.

Grass boy quirked an eyebrow, "Why should we?"

"Because when you flip a coin you don't have someone grabbing it in midair to make sure it lands on a certain call," Kenny frowned.

"How do you play?" the same boy grinned carelessly, "When I flip a coin the sides don't pretend to be going out in a compromise so one certain call will win."

"I'm not saying what they did was right," Kenny stated, "I'm also not saying what they are doing is fake either."

The girl was confused, "So you're saying what they did was wrong and real?"

"No, I'm not saying anything!" Kenny explained.

Grass boy sighed, "Well obviously you're saying something…."

"How about we just don't talk about it anymore?" the leader interrupted, "Come on, let's go…."

"To school?" the girl asked with a frown, "Isn't it still kind of early?"

He simply shrugged in response, "We have a job to do; Kenny you're coming with us."

As the other members of the group stood up to join the leader, the genius remained seated on the bench. He was reluctant to follow the group, not knowing what might happen.

"What's his problem…?" grass boy whispered to the leader out of curiosity, he regarded Kenny weirdly.

"Oh, that's right…," the leader muttered to himself as he held his head with his hand, "He thinks we're out to get him because he spilled his guts to Tyson and Hilary…."

"Really…?" the girl questioned incredulously, "Little ol' us?"

Kenny spoke up, "How do I know I can trust you?"

The leader let out a deep sigh as he turned around, shrugging his shoulders exaggeratively before a sarcastic comment left his mouth. "What are we going to do, put you in a giant cage?"

**A/N**: Okay… so it wasn't the best chapter I've ever written, but it was necessary for the sake of Kenny and his problems. But you'll be happy to know the next chapter is dedicated to full TyHil-ness; no probability, no nightmares, no blame games – just pure TyHil.


	14. Chapter 13: Soggy Cereal Banter

**A/N**: So it's been quite a while… hopefully this chapter is good and makes up for your longer than usual wait. It's more of a filler than important for the plot, but I figured you guys deserved some TyHil. Anyways, thanks to **Plushie-Sensei**, **NKingy**, **Moonlight Serenity aka Jess**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **None Ya**, **Shawn the Unfunny Joke**, **darkheart1992**, **Muffinsweetz**, **bloomofbeauty**, **Musee.Picasso** and **vision-of-light** for the reviews, they are always appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade.

Chapter Thirteen: Soggy Cereal Banter

"Hold on!" Hilary called as she descended from the stairs, stifling a yawn with the use of her hand. She soon approached the front door of her house, opening it up with one hand; she used the other to wipe sleep from her eyes.

On the other side of the entrance stood a somewhat tired capped boy who adorned a grin, "Morning, Hil. Guess you didn't get your beauty sleep either…."

Frowning, the brunette slammed the door on his face. "You're not exactly the most charming person in the morning, are you Tyson?" she rolled her eyes.

"Open up," Tyson knocked on the door, "That didn't come out right, I meant you looked tired."

"Am I supposed to believe that?" Hilary scoffed, her hands residing on her hips, "Give me one good reason why I should open the door."

Tyson paused for a moment, "I brought you flowers."

"You did?" Hilary quirked an eyebrow, then a frown overcame her features, "No, you didn't."

Tyson sighed, "Guess I'll just have to give them to another pretty girl…."

Hilary opened the door curiously at that, just enough so that she could peer through somewhat. "You think I'm pretty?" she inquired skeptically.

"I don't think I specified if I did or not…," Tyson stated.

"You said another pretty girl as in 'an other' pretty girl than me," Hilary told him, "So you think I'm pretty?"

He rolled his eyes, "You take my breath away…."

"Can't you take anything seriously?" the brunette scowled, beginning to slam the door again when Tyson caught it with his hand. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized rather quickly, shoving the flowers he was gripping by the stems toward her. "About everything… you know, even about things I didn't do… like yesterday."

Hilary held up a hand as a message for him to stop speaking, "Let's not talk about it… please."

"Yeah," he nodded, "That's a good idea."

"Thank you," she smiled opening the door to let him inside, but first she accepted the flowers, "I don't believe you actually bought me these."

"Bought?" Tyson shook his head, walking inside her home, past Hilary towards her kitchen, "Try hand picked from Grandpa's garden, of course only the best. That's what my girl deserves."

"Your girl?" Hilary questioned, "I think you're getting a little possessive, Tyson. What are you doing…?"

She had followed him into her kitchen, where he was now opening the fridge. "I've been up for a while, you do not know how early I had to get up to pick those flowers undetected," he said, taking the milk out of the refrigerator. He then began to scour the cupboards for bowls. "Aha! Here we go!"

"Gee Tyson; help yourself," Hilary sighed, "Would you like anything else?"

"Actually… where do you keep the cereal?" Tyson asked.

"Bottom cupboard, second to your right," Hilary told him with a shake of her head. She watched him take her directions; rolling her eyes, she frowned, "Your other right Tyson…."

"Oh… uh, whoops," he laughed as he finally found the cereal. He brought the supplies to the kitchen table before looking to Hilary curiously, "Do you want some too?"

"No thank you," Hilary sat down at the table just as Tyson was to, "And I don't know about you, but most of us use utensils with cereal."

He smiled sheepishly, "Right…. Man, I don't function too well with only six hours of sleep…." Tyson quickly found a spoon in the sink before taking a seat across from the brunette. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

"Tyson, it's my house, if I wanted something to eat I would get it," Hilary stated.

The capped boy shrugged, "Your loss, I make some mean cereal."

Hilary smiled somewhat, leaning into the palm of her hand that now helped prop up her head, as she regarded the navy haired boy. "I wouldn't think you make it often enough to know."

Tyson shrugged again, pouring the cereal into the bowl. "I'll have to make a bowl for you sometime," he joked, "You know… if you can wake me up."

"Somehow I don't see that going well," the brunette contemplated, "Waking _you_ up to make _me_ breakfast… maybe when pigs fly."

"You'll be surprised one day," the boy told her, now pouring milk into the bowl.

Hilary smirked, "About what situation?"

"Ha ha," Tyson smiled somewhat, he began to stir his meal around with his spoon. Giving a yawn, the capped boy said, "I think I'm coming down with something…."

The brunette leaned across the table to rest her wrist against the forehead of the boy in a concerned manner. She frowned, "Your temperature seems fine, why do you think you're sick?"

"I can't sleep," Tyson told her.

Hilary continued to frown, "Six hours is decent, Tyson."

"I can't eat," he continued.

The girl glanced down to the bowl then back to him again unimpressed. "Right…," she said slowly.

"I meant as much," Tyson stressed.

Hilary then became curious of Tyson's statements, she smiled at him. "So you can't eat or sleep, Tyson?" she asked hopefully, "Do you know what this means…?"

He shrugged, "No… but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

"Not to sound cliché," Hilary began, already knowing that she was going to anyways, "But normally when someone feels this way they go through those phases."

"Oh, I get it!" Tyson grinned, "Man, I feel like a complete idiot!"

She let out a sigh, "You do? I mean… about understanding the whole thing."

"Yeah, of course," he laughed, "I'd have to be a moron not to know what you mean."

"So you understand that you're…," Hilary trailed off mid-sentence when the boy cut back in.

"Nauseated."

Tyson took a spoonful of his cereal as he watched the girl before him stare blankly in his direction. She gave him a long and hard look, trying to discern whether or not he was being serious or joking around. She settled on him being the complete idiot he believed he was not.

"Can't see the forest because of the trees, Tyson?" Hilary rolled her eyes after a while.

That made the capped boy confused quite a bit, enough to seize his current chewing. He watched her in a befuddled manner, "I'm sorry?"

"Can't see the forest because of the trees," the brunette repeated, only this time she shrugged along with the statement.

Tyson continued to regard her strangely, "Hil, I think you need to lay down, you're speaking gibberish. We're in your kitchen, I see no trees or forests; how many fingers am I holding up, your sight must be awful."

"Two," she answered quickly, "But that's not the point, it's a saying Tyson."

"And what's it saying?" he wondered.

"It means you can't see the obvious," she stated.

Tyson remained unbelieving, "How?"

"Well, what if you met this person that said they couldn't see a forest because there were trees in the way," she rephrased so that he would understand better.

"What's so wrong about that, maybe there _are_ trees in the way," Tyson frowned.

"Tyson, if there was trees in front of a forest don't you think there could be a possibility that they _are_ the forest," Hilary sighed.

"I guess…," he said uncertainly.

"It's just like saying you can't see the beach because there's sand and water in the way," she continued.

Tyson shook his head in disagreement, "I don't think so. Sand and water aren't tall enough."

Hilary sighed, "How about we just let this go…?"

"Fine with me," the capped boy agreed, "Just tell me one thing, if you didn't think I was nauseated… what did you think?"

The brunette laced her fingers together on the table in front of her as she looked at the boy thoughtfully. "I thought… maybe… you were in love," she told him.

Tyson stared blankly at her, almost as if he was completely zoned out. Leaning somewhat over his cereal, he questioned incredulously, "Seriously?"

Her gaze fell to the table top in embarrassment. "Yeah…," she confessed.

"With you?" he smiled, amused by the whole matter, "That's hilarious!"

Hilary practically felt her face flush in further embarrassment; nonetheless her gaze met Tyson's with a glare. "And why is that so funny?" she demanded.

Tyson remained smiling, but dared himself not to laugh. Instead he reached his hand across the table to rest on her laced ones, giving them a squeeze he sighed. "Sorry, words have never been a blessing with me, you know?" he said firstly, "It's kind of cute though, that you want me to love you."

"Who said I _wanted_ you to love me?" she asked.

"Who else? You," Tyson stated, "It's cute."

"Oh no, it's not," Hilary frowned, "You're obviously deranged."

He quirked an eyebrow at the brunette in an amused manner still. "Me?" he laughed, "You're the one who is seeing trees and forests in my words."

"To be fair, I'm seeing them in your stupidity," Hilary rolled her eyes.

"And that makes it better, how…?" Tyson asked.

The brunette removed her hands from underneath Tyson's single gentle grasp so she could cross her arms. "This is a great start to the day…," she said sarcastically, giving the navy haired boy an unimpressed look.

He didn't say anything as he returned his arm to his side of the table. Sitting there, he clinked the spoon around in the cereal trying to figure out what he should say.

"That's really annoying Tyson," Hilary pointed out.

"Sorry I'm such a nuisance," the statement that should've come out as a jibe with a harsh tone instead was one of pure softness. He looked at her apologetically, stirring his cereal in a careful manner, making sure the metal did not smack into the side of the bowl with a loud clang.

"No…," Hilary shook her head in disagreement, guilt had overrun her suddenly, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little stressed…. I didn't get much sleep last night either, so I might be a little on edge today."

Tyson nodded with understanding, "Don't be angry, Hil. It just means you're in love, embrace it."

She smiled, "Thanks."

"Yeah," he said before asking, "It's me, right?"

"You?" Hilary questioned before continuing, "Hardly. We've been through this before, Tyson; I'm more into complex guys."

He frowned disbelieving, "Like whom, Kenny?"

Hilary pretended to think over the question in a considerate manner, just to see what Tyson's reaction would be. "_Well_…," she drew out the word.

"You're kidding me, right?" Tyson inquired with a scowl, "I mean… I have nothing against him, but really." He searched her expression for any signs of dishonesty on the subject; unfortunately for him, she was suppressing her laughter. Then, suddenly, the boy lost his cool, "Hil, he's not even you're type!"

A smile broke through her features further as she again laced her fingers together in front of her on the table. She leaned forward in curiosity, "Didn't know you cared so much. So tell me again… what's my type?"

Tyson was not as entertained as Hilary seemed to be so he decided to sulk somewhat. "Who said I did _care_?" he fired back.

"Who else? You," the brunette mocked, "It's cute."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm glad you think so."

She quirked an eyebrow, "Why's that…?"

"Well… to be fair, you said I was the one who said I cared, _and_ you thought it was cute. And thus, when I care I must be cute," Tyson stated, "_You_ think _I'm_ cute."

"Eat your cereal," Hilary told him.

He laughed at her reaction, adorning a smile now instead of his brief sulking expression. "Want to know something?" he asked.

She sighed, "Not really…."

Tyson shrugged, continuing on with what he was going to say anyways. "Just so you know, even if it's more of a reminder…," he said looking down to the cereal floating in the milk, unable to keep the girl's gaze, "_I_ still think _you're_ cuter."

Hilary didn't respond right away; she wasn't quite positive with what she was supposed to say. He didn't even seem to be waiting for a response as he stirred his breakfast in silence, eating a spoonful occasionally. Yet she felt she was inclined to say something, anything.

"Tyson…," she finally decided on, causing the boy to tear his eyes from his food to meet her gaze. She let the silence fit between them for a moment, again searching for the right words.

"I know," he said softly, "That's why I said it. It was sweet, it was the truth and it made you happy. Why else would I say it?"

"And you're not good with words?" she smiled.

"I have my moments," Tyson decided with a slight laugh. "I'm kind of nervous…," he confessed after, he looked to the brunette sincerely, "About today."

"Is that why you can't supposedly eat or sleep?" Hilary questioned.

"Maybe," Tyson replied, "It's just bugging me that after today it's over."

"Well Tyson, why don't we talk to Miss Kincaid and see if we can be chained together everyday," Hilary said sarcastically, "We don't want this, remember?"

"Not that actually," he corrected, and she watched in amusement as his face turned somewhat scarlet as he continued, "I mean about how… we would officially be… you know… over."

"When did we officially begin?" she asked, meaning no harm with the question. But apparently Tyson was sensitive this morning and immediately became frazzled.

"I know! I meant… I didn't mean… you see… it wasn't supposed to sound like that… at all. Of course we weren't together… that would be stupid," he rambled in objection to his own statement.

Another pang of guilt reached Hilary, making her feel terrible. If Tyson was bowing his head any further down it might've been in his cereal.

"I was only kidding…," she spoke up softly, her tone careful as if the boy would explode in protest or anger.

"So was I," Tyson stated, his voice rigid.

"You know…," Hilary started, pausing until their eyes met again, "I'm a little sad that it will be over too."

"Well yeah, you're in love with me," he shrugged.

"What?" Hilary asked, a pink tinge filling her cheeks.

"That time I really was kidding…," Tyson said plainly, "Anyways, go on…."

"I'm really going to miss this Tyson," Hilary levelled with him, "How sweet you can be, how you've been so quick to agree with me… sometimes."

The capped boy pulled the chair closest to him at the table out and patted the seat. "Hilary, sit," he told her, setting down his spoon for a moment.

She sighed and switched seats as Tyson turned his body in the direction of hers. He then quickly took her hands before she got the chance to fold them on her lap. Squeezing her hands tightly for a moment as well, he gave her a smile.

"I may not be able to tell the forests from the trees, but I can tell a smile from a frown," Tyson stated.

Hilary was somewhat perplexed by his comment, "Okay…."

"I'm just saying that I know when I call you a screaming banshee it will make you frown," he explained.

And right on cue, the brunette glared at Tyson with a scowl. He laughed at that fact, only making her roll her eyes at his _maturity_.

"But," he continued, "I know how to make you smile too, it just took me a little longer. You do this…."

Hilary raised an eyebrow out of confusion when he proceeded to do nothing. There were no compliments that reached her ears, nor were their apologies on his behalf about his past stupidities. It was merely a staring contest, and he seemed so entranced.

It felt all too familiar for Hilary, this moment where they just looked at each other in silence. Tyson's statement, no movement; Hilary's patience, wearing thin. She knew what he was _going_ to do, if he would ever go through with it.

His eyes had that spark again, the determined, unwavering light. It never went out; it would become dire until something made it explode. Something that would deserve his full attention.

She didn't understand that, how he was able to look at her the same way. How his focus made him look like he was stuck in a trance in her direction. She wouldn't have believed it either, but frustration settled within his gaze as well, flickering and playing with that promising light. That was when she believed it.

Hilary had interfered last time, saving him from whatever trouble he had with just kissing her when faced with the thoughts of thinking about it. But she wouldn't this time, it was his turn and it was for the better.

"I want to," Tyson said softly, assuming she had already guessed his motives.

She smiled just as gentle, "You can."

He nodded once, again not budging. "Your dad isn't going to pop out of nowhere and strike me with a Styrofoam bat, is he?" he asked, sadly, in a serious tone.

Hilary rolled her eyes, "No, he's at work."

"How about your mom?" he wondered.

Sighing, she shook her head, "No Tyson, nobody's going to jump out of the cupboards and hit you with any sort of Styrofoam object."

"Actually… I meant with a camera for your mom," Tyson said, "Moms are weird like that sometimes."

"I can't make any promises," Hilary told him, though she knew that would not happen either.

He nodded quickly, going back to his prior stance. Squeezing his hand briefly, Hilary smiled at him, willing to wait for his courage. It was Tyson after all, he carried that in bulk.

Tyson started to near forwards when he decided to stop. Sitting back he sighed to himself and tried again. He was nearing slowly, like a hand of a small child towards something that once scared him. And as he came closer the reluctance grew more evident.

Hilary found herself proud of him when their noses touched and he paused to collect himself and his nerves. She found that quite strange, how she wanted to cheer him on… but that would've probably made things even more awkward. That was just natural for her though, when her heart swelled with pride she would boost his confidence when he may be doubtful.

"It's just a kiss," she told him suddenly, "You're Tyson Granger, world champion."

Though she couldn't see the grin that broke through Tyson's features, she soon felt it. His lips brushed against hers in hesitance that vanished just as quickly as it had come, promising Hilary that it was safe for her eyes to close. But the promise was soon broken by the capped boy when he broke away abruptly because of the sudden sound of the telephone.

Hilary quirked an eyebrow at his jumpiness, nonetheless she left to go answer the phone. This left Tyson, who was embarrassed, all by himself at the table, just him and his cereal. Turning to face the direction of his food, he sat in silence.

"So you're cereal…," he said after a while, drumming his fingers on the table. Deciding it was weird to talk to his breakfast, the conversation was left at that as he waited for Hilary's return.

The short waiting period wasn't anything special; he stirred his food and occasionally took bites. Until the brunette entered the room again, that was when he acknowledged her existence briefly before his gaze was cast down to the table top.

"So… who was it?" Tyson asked curiously.

Hilary was surprised by his shy manner; it continued to amaze her how he was able to be so many people around her alone. "It was my father, he just wanted me to know that the kissing police are coming to get you," she said sarcastically.

"S-seriously?" Tyson gawked, his eyes wide with terror.

"No…," Hilary told him incredulously, "The kissing police are nonexistent and it was a wrong number. You need to calm down."

The capped boy shrugged, he was relaxed now that he knew people weren't coming for him. "Maybe," he sighed, "Just a little stressed… it's messing with my head."

"So you're stressed often," she smirked.

Tyson offered a smile even if he continued to refuse to meet her eyes. "Can you really blame me for stressing out over losing someone like you?" he wondered.

Hilary smiled as she pretended to contemplate over the question in deep thought. "Hmm…. No."

"Figures," he laughed, "But I agree."

"Do you think…," she began, but stopped herself from continuing. At this Tyson looked up curiously, searching for any hints as to why her question turned silent. Seeing this, she attempted to dismiss the fact that she had spoken, "Never mind."

Hilary by now had sat back in her original seat at the table across from him. He supposed that they again chose to switch their behaviours now that the brunette was looking down and he was watching her in near amusement. But it wasn't exactly enjoyment he felt, he didn't like that Hilary was feeling uncomfortable around him. He _knew_ how it felt.

So the capped boy pulled out his chair and stood up so he could walk around the table. Hilary regarded him in a perplexed manner as he made his way, ending up behind her to the left.

"Don't worry Hil," he told her, wrapping one of his arms around her for a hug, causing her to smile. "Everything will be alright… if there's anything you ever want to talk about…."

"I know," she smiled, giving him a peck on the cheek, "I know."

Tyson nodded, "So what were you going to ask me?"

"Do you think…," Hilary paused for a moment, "Do you think that once Monday comes around everything will just restart? That we'll be known as some kind of enemies?"

The capped boy didn't answer right away; he pulled the chair closest to him closer so that he could sit down. Then he shifted his jaw back and forth while making noises as if he was deep in thought.

"I like you the way you are, Tyson," Hilary told him.

He gave her a strange look, "Uh… good for you?"

"Weren't you trying to seem complex to impress me?" she questioned.

"No," Tyson said bluntly, "That would take _way_ too much effort."

Hilary rolled her eyes, "Gee, thanks."

"What? Oh… sorry," he frowned at his mistake, "I would so make the effort, but you know…. You should like me for me and if I was like that… I wouldn't be me…. So yeah… what were we talking about again?"

"Monday," she reminded.

"Right! Right…," Tyson acknowledged, "I don't think we'll ever be able to go back, things changed. I can't just yell at you now without thinking, hey maybe she'll trust me more if I do this. Or maybe she'll look at me like that if I don't do this. And maybe even she won't give those because I didn't hear that again when she told me this, you see my point?"

"No," she said.

"I'm saying… you hit me right here," Tyson pointed to his right side of his chest.

Hilary smiled, "Other side, Tyson."

"Oh… yeah," he smiled sheepishly, "Anyways, you hit me here and here you shall stay. If that's alright with you… I mean."

"I shall stay," she nodded.

Tyson grinned, "Awesome. Just don't worry about it, as long as I'm here I'll make sure we won't go back to our old ways on Monday."

"Tyson… if you weren't here, how could we go back to our old ways?" she asked.

Frowning, he fired back, "Nothing I say impresses you, does it?"

"I wouldn't say that," she shrugged, "_Sometimes_ you can."

Tyson watched her intently before winking, "Oh, I gotcha!"

Hilary on the other hand stared at him blankly, "I don't think you do…."

"Yeah, you meant when I kiss you, right?" Tyson questioned, trying to prove he understood.

She shook her head, "No… I meant in general."

"Oh…," he said slowly, "This is awkward…."

"Slightly," Hilary agreed.

"Our messages to each other aren't getting across to each other too good this morning, are they?" Tyson sighed, "It must be too early…."

"Maybe," Hilary shrugged, "So you think everything will be fine on Monday, right?"

"I think everything will be fine on Monday, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, and every day after that. Want to know why?" Tyson smiled and Hilary nodded for him to go on, "Because I've given reasons and you've given reasons why we should believe it. Besides... I kissed Hilary Tatibana, there's no way I'm going back."

Blushing at the comment, Hilary looked away from his sincere gaze and smile. But through this attempt of avoidance, he continued to watch her in content. Sighing, the brunette said the only thing that came to mind in her time of need.

"Eat your cereal."

**A/N**: Besides the worst chapter title ever, I hope it was a great addition to the fanfic. It took a while to write because I wanted it to be perfect, but nothing's perfect… so hopefully it's just really sweet. What a goal… anyways, please review!


	15. Chapter 14: Deja Vu To You Too

**A/N**: So I figured I would update… I, personally, am having a rather down day. As you may know the Nintendo Wii came out today and my brother and I decided, hey let's go wait in line for an hour or two so we can get one. Turned out they only had 21 systems… guess who got the last one. Yeah… the guy ahead of us. Anyways, thank you to **Moonlight Serenity aka Jess**, **NKingy**, **reebiegirl**, **Blaze 909**, **Kendo Baby**,** Musee.Picasso**,** Fortune Hunter**, **Shawn the Unfunny Joke** (thanks for trying), **Party in the Afterlife**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **cartoon-watcher-4-eva**, **shadowtailmon**, **Stewey-The insane one**. and **Muffinsweetz** for the reviews.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Beyblade.

Chapter Fourteen: Déjà Vu To You Too

Miss Kincaid had a problem. It wasn't anything new or unexpected, but as she sat in her car it was evident. Her knuckles were turning white as she clutched the steering wheel, her arms shaking as she looked out the window. There it was, her doom, her personal sanity destroyer. The school.

She had been sitting there quite a while from her parking space in the teacher's lot. She hadn't even unbuckled her seat belt, her hands glued to the steering wheel in an un-budging grasp. All she did was look at the building, watch its smugness. It knew the power it held on her.

It was all a dream, yet if felt like more. Like the building was waiting to come alive, to lock the door behind her, rear its ugly side. But as she sat in her seat, eyes wide in alert, nothing proved her thoughts. The school seemed fairly normal, peaceful even.

Though that didn't stop Miss Kincaid from jumping when a knock came from her driver's side window, she quickly turned to look at a colleague of hers who threw her an apologetic smile as he made the motion for her to roll down the window.

"Morning Miss Kincaid," the fellow teacher greeted when she went through with the task, "Sorry about that, by the way."

"Oh… no problem… morning, I was just… thinking," Miss Kincaid stumbled, attempting to sort out her speech; it seemed it was under technical difficulties because of the stress.

"I wouldn't doubt it," he smiled merrily, "I just wanted to tell you that I can't wait to see, or should I say hear, the outcome of your little math project. That has got to be the talk of the school."

She pulled a smile, "Oh."

"My class has even got a bet going… they kind of got me into it too. So whoever guesses right on the next outcome gets two extra percent on their next math test," he chuckled, "Some of them need it, anyways… I just wanted to know how you were. You were kind of just sitting there; I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Miss Kincaid told him, "Perfect. It's just… the _excitement_. You never know what's going to happen."

Her colleague nodded, "Well then… good luck. See you later Miss Kincaid, can't wait to see what happens!"

"Either can I…," she mumbled, sulking into the driver's seat as she watched the man walk away towards her doom. It seemed he had no problem opening the door and walking inside, no pit of oblivion swallowed him up or mobs of students.

Sighing, the woman reluctantly opened the car door and swung her feet over to meet the concrete. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to get out of the vehicle. That was when she was reminded with what Phil, the radio talk show weatherman, said. It was a clear day, no cloud in the bright blue sky.

"No purple in sight…," she murmured to herself, walking around to the other side of the car to get her shoulder bag of supplies.

She wished she hadn't brought it; it had been in the dream. Holding little purpose now that she thought about it, she hadn't even used the bag in any way. But it had been there, over her shoulder, from the beginning. And now it was to be there again.

Opening the passenger door to get to the bag, she stared anxiously. This had been her comfort, what she believed would solve all problems that would've possibly arisen. But it didn't. There wasn't a flashlight for incredibly dark hallways, or some sort of a lock picking gadget to release Kenny if captured, she didn't even have a teleportation device in case of a mob. The last one was obvious, but still… she had believed she was prepared.

Miss Kincaid grabbed the shoulder bag quickly, as if she believed it would trigger some sort of trap, and then closed the door of her car. She faced the school warily, telling herself that it only seemed larger than usual because of her fear.

Her steps within her approach to the structure were ones of a procrastinate nature, yet she made her way. It loomed over her like it always had, since day one, but now it felt intimidating. No longer did it feel peculiar, for it was real, she was there. And now as she looked up at the façade she was reminded, greeted with reality.

The school was no taller than it was yesterday, or the day before that, and the one before that. No, it was the same dimensions and always would be. The curtains were mostly drawn in the classrooms, revealing lit rooms awaiting children instead of dull and lifeless cells to waste away in. But most importantly, no purple reflected off the school, touching it with its evil aura.

"It's just like… yesterday," Miss Kincaid stated, not quite knowing if that was a good thing or not.

Nonetheless, she grasped the handle of the door, took a deep breath and went with it. As she pulled the door open the woman closed her eyes and entered the main hall. The buzz of chatter was what made her open her eyes once again.

No strange bright, blue lights bombarded her; it was just the normal set of fluorescent ones. The hall wasn't desolate or crowded either; it had a few groups of students lazily talking and a teacher or two decorating the hall. Some children regarded her strangely, but other than that, once again, normalcy reigned.

She began to walk down the hallway of the school, attracting some of the students' attention. Kids would look at her briefly and begin to whisper to one another, even nod to her. She was beginning to wish maybe the hall could've been a little more deserted.

But Miss Kincaid soon regretted the thought when she reached the dreaded staircase, how it wound upwards in its loneliness. Students were prohibited to sit or loiter on the stairs, and for the most part they disobeyed this rule… but today they decided authority was fine with them.

Resting her hand on the railing, she had cast a long look over her shoulder to make sure everything was as she thought it was in the first place. Luckily no transformations had formed in mere seconds; no children became monsters in the darkness or students in cages. Her gaze hesitantly met what were in front of her yet again, lonesome steps to her nightmare, and she began to climb.

She had thought the first step would be the hardest, how the first echo would taunt her into submission, but in all reality it grew to be worse than easier. She was ascending again, and the thought of darkness made her pause. Swiftly, peering down to an equally lit staircase or at least the part she already conquered.

The lighting wasn't exactly shining in her eyes with massive force, then again it wasn't pitch black with no hope for her sight, it was merely in the shadows due to no windows or light exposure. She could see where she was going, but her mind wasn't positive that she wanted to go – her own personal darkness.

Closing her eyes, Miss Kincaid gripped the railing tighter; telling herself there was nothing to worry about. This time she was not alone, there were others around in case of emergencies, there would be no problems. And so, one foot lifted off the security of the stair and went forward to rest on another. The single echo danced in the victory sound, having the young teacher relax slightly.

Soon the steps became quicker, their song turning upbeat and less frightening. A great weight was lifted off her shoulders, not that it made a vast difference – fear was something that could build-up fast, a crippling fact. Reaching her classroom's floor reminded her of this, the desolate hall that accompanied unseen voices.

"You could help, you know? This is a little hard to lug all by myself," a male voice whined at the other end of the hall, a door swung open revealing a boy trying to pull an unseen object.

"I'm trying, alright? This wasn't my idea after all. Tell me, wasn't it you who thought we should put him in here first… great idea by the way," another voice shot back, he was not in her range of view.

Miss Kincaid watched in silence, her eyes wide in terror. Telling herself it was impossible, she crept into the hallway, making sure she did not catch the awareness of these boys.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not this hunk of junk that's making it heavy," the initial boy scowled, "Stupid cage weighs a ton…."

"Hey, hey!" the other boy yelled suddenly, "That water's supposed to last you a long time, don't drink it all now."

That was all Miss Kincaid needed to hear as she sprung into action. She went against all of her bent up fears as she marched her way down the hall, the sound of her footsteps catching the students' attention yet again.

"What do you boys think you're doing? You should be ashamed of yourselves," Miss Kincaid lectured, closing in on them. Making her realize a few characteristics she should've looked out for.

"S-sorry Ma'am," the two boys, clearly younger, stammered as they looked towards the woman with fearful eyes. "W-we'll never do it again…."

Relief had overcome the teacher briefly, and then she nearly drowned in embarrassment. The two boys had been pushing a cage, granted, but within it was not Kenny. No, it was a puppy in a carrying case, its face against the door, looking stupidly at Miss Kincaid with its tongue out.

"T-this was the only way I could bring it to school, since our teacher wanted us to bring in our pets, and… and… sorry," the first boy hung his head in shame while the other nodded quickly.

"Oh," she said in acknowledgement, looking at the puppy smack into the walls playfully, "I thought…." She shook her head, deciding to save whatever dignity she had left. "Never mind, just don't make such a ruckus in the halls."

"Yes Ma'am!" the other boy piped up, "We won't, have a good day."

She smiled, giving them one last look before retreating back down the hall, making her way towards her classroom. The door was shut, but she was aware someone was inside; the lights were turned on after all.

Opening the door slowly, her heart sank at what she saw. A brunette was seated in the back row, books set out in front of her as she jotted down notes, and she seemed to be oblivious to the world. As was her navy haired counterpart, he was looking out the window from his spot on top of a desk a couple seats ahead. Quirking her eyebrow at the familiar scene, she checked over her shoulder to see whether or not she somehow missed a giant cage.

"Good morning Miss Kincaid," chirped the girl when she realized her teacher had arrived, her partner even turned to look.

"Morning Hilary, Tyson," she greeted, offering them a smile, as forced as it was.

The capped boy nodded, "How's it going?"

"Fine," she answered, "How about you?"

"Tired," Tyson shrugged, "Other than that… cool."

Miss Kincaid gave a nod, "Hopefully you'll wake up as the day goes on."

"Hopefully," Tyson agreed with a yawn, his attention returning to the outside world. This pleased Miss Kincaid, that conversation had been rather awkward.

And the eeriness of the situation had returned when both Tyson and Hilary lost all interest with her. It was as if she was not even in the room as she made her way towards her desk so she could set her bag down.

Removing the strap from her shoulder to set the bag behind the desk, she paused. Stealthily, she pulled back the chair and peeked underneath to make sure no female pupil of hers was hiding, thankfully there was not. Unfortunately, she was caught in the act.

"Uh… Miss Kincaid?" Tyson spoke up, catching Hilary's attention as well, "Why are you looking under your desk?"

Now she had two of her students staring at her perplexed, awaiting an answer. "Well… you never know what just might be under your nose, or should I say desk?" she hadn't even bothered laughing at the joke, knowing it was terrible, even worse than the one in her dream.

"Um… ha ha… ha," Tyson offered a laugh, an obviously forced one, as he exchanged a glance with Hilary. "Nice material… could use _some_ work, but you know… we all start somewhere."

Miss Kincaid sighed, she was somewhat amazed that they were not even remotely resenting her as of yet. Seeing how they were attempting to be nice, it seemed that maybe they were more mature than her. Then again, there was the whole reason why they were being chained together in the first place….

"I'm sorry Miss Kincaid, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Tyson apologized, jumping off the desk, "Want to know what I do before I write good jokes?"

She was partly thankful when Hilary jumped into the conversation. "You write jokes… what for?" she questioned incredulously.

"So I have something to fall back on," the capped boy stated, "Great plan, huh? I'd be an awesome comedian."

"Hardly," the brunette disagreed, "Let me get this straight, if you can't spin tops for a living you want to be pelted by tomatoes… I mean, tell jokes?"

"That's funny Hil," Tyson scowled, "Is there something about this school that makes you hate everything I say?"

"No," she told him, "I'm pretty sure there's just something about this school that makes everything you say sound stupid."

"Ouch," he replied.

"I'd love to hear one of these great jokes," she said, curiosity was laced in her voice.

"Your Mom's a joke," Tyson shot back.

"Kids…," Miss Kincaid warned.

Hilary rolled her eyes, "I'll tell her that, and I'll make sure she equips her Styrofoam bat when she decides to hunt you down."

"Equips?" Tyson snorted, "Don't forget to give her the bubble wrap vest, it boosts her attack by two…."

"Kids!" Miss Kincaid interrupted, and the pair stopped to look at her, "Can you just tell me your suggestion, Tyson? There's really no need to fight…."

The boy nodded, "Glad someone appreciates me…. Anyways, I usually open the windows and let the fresh air in. What do you say; want to give it a try?" He gestured towards the windows.

"No!" Miss Kincaid shouted, causing Tyson to jump. She rushed towards the curtains in a frantic manner, "We can't…. You know what; we're actually just going to close these for today…."

"But Miss," Tyson said as the outside world closed before him behind some blue material, "It's a beautiful day out, why do you want to keep it away from us?"

"You know what they say about purple clouds," Miss Kincaid replied, giving the draw string one final tug, "Menacing trouble makers…."

The boy stared at his teacher blankly for a moment before he broke out in laughter. "Man, I almost believed you there," he grinned, "Good one Miss Kincaid, where did you come up with that?"

She regarded him briefly, "Do you want to fail Science, Tyson?"

"Um… no," he instantly stopped.

"Then don't ask stupid questions," she continued.

Tyson paused for another moment, and then he glanced back to Hilary with a questionable stare. "Did we cover that in class or something…?" he whispered.

Frowning, she shrugged, "No clue."

Miss Kincaid became sympathetic, "Sorry Tyson, I didn't get much sleep last night."

"That's okay, either did I," he said with a sigh, "It's this whole Friday fiasco thing, Hil and I were actually talking about it this morning over cereal… literally. She even went on to tell me she was amazed that I managed to look this good everyday."

"What?" Hilary disagreed, "I don't think I remember that part…."

"Oh, you didn't say that?" Tyson smiled sheepishly, "Guess it was one of those times I made up my own dialogue because you were being boring."

Scoffing, she crossed her arms, "I don't even know why I talk to you…."

"I was only kidding," Tyson frowned.

Her expression remained still, "Kai tells better jokes than you."

"Oh come on, you don't mean that," Tyson sighed, "I've seen _mimes_ tell better jokes than him, I'm better than a mime!"

Miss Kincaid decided that at this particular time it was probably best to intervene. "Tyson…," she called upon him in a reluctant manner, catching his attention partially, "Can you do me a favour?"

For a moment, the capped boy looked at his teacher in a torn manner. His upset disposition about his prior conversation with Hilary seemed to have vanished, making him appear thoughtful for a second as he stood, unsure of how to answer.

Tyson turned to Miss Kincaid, his expression serious. "Can it wait a couple minutes, I promise I'll get right on whatever you need after?" he asked with a trace of hopefulness.

The young teacher didn't see why not, so she shrugged. "Okay… no problem," she agreed.

Tyson grinned briefly before facing Hilary again in determination; this caught his partner's attention. Taking a deep breath, he rolled up his sleeves and marched towards the girl.

"Yes?" Hilary questioned curiously, annoyance hung in her voice as she regarded him strangely.

"I owe you an apology," Tyson stated.

"I'm sorry?" Hilary inquired, clearly puzzled.

Giving a smile, the boy nodded, "Exactly, that's what I mean. I'm sorry. Amazing how quickly we become our old selves again, huh?"

She shrugged, "Well it's not like we magically became other people just because we're… _dating_."

"Well, _still_…," he let the argument hang in the air before giving Hilary a peck on the cheek, "I'm sorry, I may just have to agree with you though, this school does tend to make me seem like a jerk."

Hilary had to agree, "Maybe it's cursed."

Miss Kincaid shuddered at that thought, and past thoughts of darkness crept back into her mind. Making her feel uncomfortable in her surroundings further, she shuffled her way towards the chalkboard and leaned against it. Closing her eyes tightly, she consoled her mind by rubbing her temples.

"Miss Kincaid, are you alright?" Tyson asked cautiously, the question was joined by the sound of Hilary's chair being pushed back as she stood.

"I'm fine… just… had a little spell there," she answered, opening her eyes slowly to meet their worried gazes. "Would you two mind getting me a glass of water… please and thank you?"

"Sure," the brunette agreed, "Will you be okay by yourself?"

"I should be fine," Miss Kincaid said, trying to convince not only them but herself as well. "A headache just came out of nowhere… nothing serious."

"Then we'll be back soon," Tyson told her with a nod. He held out his hand to Hilary, wiggling his fingers as he grinned, "They may not be metal, but at least it's a way we can be locked together."

Rolling her eyes, she took his hand and began to drag him away towards the door. "Just come on…," she sighed, making him grin further.

Opening the door, Hilary exited first. Tyson had pulled her back for a moment though, his hand on the door frame as he laughed joyfully in their teacher's direction. Even with his partner's impatience, he made a final remark to his teacher, "Beware of purple, Miss Kincaid!"

She knew the capped boy had no way of knowing what an impact those words had on her, yet as he closed the door behind him she found herself frowning. "I'm so going to dock marks because of that on his next test…," she murmured, holding the bridge of her nose with her hand.

Shaking off the words, she decided it was time to give the classroom a further inspection. She was still feeling untrusting, especially of the environment, and she desperately needed to ease the troublesome thoughts that reoccurred in painful doses.

So Miss Kincaid, having already known that nobody was behind the curtains or under her desk, made her way cautiously towards the filing cabinet. Sneaking up on the object, as if it would take off with any sign of sudden movement, she nearly pounced on it with a burst of energy at the last moment. Looking around the corner, relief washed over her, nothing was on the other side.

But that left only one spot in the room, where a creature of pure evil had lurked at one point in her state of mind. Strolling up to the cabinets at the back of the room casually, she paused in front of them. Waiting for a few seconds, she peered around the room before opening the doors.

And again she took a minute to make sure no one would tumble out of the cupboards, yelping at the contact and then proceed to lecture and accuse her of crimes. But when nothing happened she took it as her cue to peer inside, revealing nothing but the ordinary.

She felt a great weight lift off her shoulders as she retreated to her desk. Pulling out the chair, she relaxed into it as a sudden surge of sleepiness overcame her, but she dared not close her eyes. Who really knew what tortures would come to her there?

"Why are you so paranoid?"

Miss Kincaid's eyes widened at the voice, the familiarities of the sound and tone. The demanding context laced within a question; so unknown in reality, yet close to her unconscious, taunting constantly from over her shoulder.

There was a fumbling at the door before it suddenly opened, revealing five children. In lead was a boy she was very happy to see out from behind bars, yet his shoulders still slumped in slight disappointment and he appeared to be brooding. And behind him were four children, students she wished she hadn't seen.

Miss Kincaid tensed within her chair, sitting straight up as her nails dug into the arm rests in fear. All five kids looked at her in acknowledgement, but no one said a word, nor did they move. That is, until Kenny decided to sulk towards his new and temporary seating arrangement, then the others followed suit.

The genius sat down at his desk, his head in his hands as he slumped over in a tired manner. The other students, she noted, were not impressed by this action and sent him disapproving looks, which he decided to ignore.

"Miss Kincaid?" Kenny spoke up suddenly, having her jump. Everyone's eyes rested on her yet again, making her feel uncomfortable further. "What's my punishment for stealing the key?"

She could've swore she saw their eyes spark, those that worried her, in an evil manner. The sound of his reluctant confession to the theft made her suspicious of them, how they took pride in that moment for a reason unknown to her.

Contemplating over his question, she did not answer him right away. And so one of the four dreaded students, the boy who seemed to be in charge, took it to his advantage, smiling slyly, he commented, "Kenny's just afraid you'll _lock_ him up."

Miss Kincaid felt her stomach drop, her flesh nearly paling before her eyes. It hit her suddenly, a painful throb of significance. Slumping in her chair, she held her head within the comfort of her hands.

"I'm sorry…," she murmured.

Kenny stood up from his seat in worry, "Miss Kincaid, are you alright? Are you in any pain?"

"I'm…," she stopped short, she was certainly not fine. The truth had just dawned on her, she was worse than the four children that stood now in worry, she had put him in the cage. She had been pushed too far, and now she was afraid of what she would do next, consciously or unconsciously. "Not hurt…."

"Miss Kincaid, we're back," Tyson called, walking into the room, one hand holding a glass of water while the other continued holding Hilary's. His expression became concerned when he saw their teacher, and they soon hurried to her aid. "Here, you said you wanted water."

She accepted the glass as she sat up in the chair correctly. "Thank you," she told them with a nod, and then she took a sip of the cold liquid.

"Are you feeling better?" Hilary inquired.

Miss Kincaid nodded again, forcing a small smile. "Let this be a lesson to always get a good nights sleep," she stated.

Her students agreed in their silent ways, and Tyson and Hilary soon focused their interest on the genius who remained standing. Kenny shuffled his feet while under their serious gazes, and with one quick glance at each other, they were approaching him.

"Hey," Tyson greeted softly.

"Hey…," Kenny responded, looking to the floor as he took note that the other four were trying their best to look completely harmless.

"Listen…," the capped boy began.

But Kenny interrupted, "No, wait. I'm sorry…. I know there's nothing I can say to explain myself for you to understand, and I'm sure there's nothing you can say to make me understand. I should've been more supportive…. I understand if you never want to talk to me again…."

"Kenny," Hilary spoke up, "I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that we've been through so much together that something like this isn't going to break us apart."

"You know me too well," Tyson grinned at her for a moment, and then his attention resided on the genius again. "Come on Kenny, you're our best friend, you thought yesterday was going to mean _that_ much to us?"

The smaller boy smiled, "R-really…? You mean it, you guys don't hate me?"

"Hate you?" Hilary questioned, "We were disappointed, but we would never hate you."

"Thanks guys," Kenny told them.

Tyson shrugged, "What do you say, group hug?"

Kenny and Hilary exchanged a glance with one another before looking back to the navy haired boy. "Um… no thanks Tyson," the genius declined, "I think I'll leave the hugging to you and Hilary."

He laughed, pulling the female brunette closer to him playfully. "I'm sure she appreciates that," he said with a smile as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I sure do," Hilary stated sarcastically.

Miss Kincaid watched her three students cope with their problems in a humane way. Making her wonder why she seemed to be unable to as she took uneasy sips of her water. Her thoughts were cut short though as her students piled in through the doorway, swaying back and forth in a tired manner.

Everyone reluctantly took their seats when the bell rang, signalling class to start for the day. And in their tired state they awaited the buzz of the announcements to come on, yet when it did there was a pause. And after that delay, came a very familiar voice.

"And another hearty good morning to all you in radio land. Phil, would you like to give us a recap on the forecast for today?"

"Would love to Bill, today's another gorgeous cloudless day, bright skies and the sun is shining, a perfect day to play outside…."

Miss Kincaid groaned as her students laughed at the office's mix-up with the announcements. For some reason children were amused by the occurrence, even though it happened at least once a month.

But sitting on her chair, thinking about what would come this particular Friday, she had to wonder why something so different could feel so familiar.

**A/N**: So we're back to the actual plot. I'd say that there are about four chapters and an epilogue left of this story, if I were to make an estimated guess. Anyways, thanks for reading, please review!


	16. Chapter 15: Knit Mitten To The Face

**A/N**: So… this chapter is way overdue…. Uh… there's not much to say, rather than school was being a big pain. The chapter itself did not take long to write at all, I wrote a majority of it this past week actually. But anyways, thank you to **Moonlight Serenity aka Jess**, **Shawn the Unfunny Joke**, **sanaa**, **Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover**, **Party in the Afterlife**, **reebiegirl**, **Stewey-The Insane One**, **NKingy**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Musee.Picasso**, **Sony89** and **Muffinsweetz** for the reviews!

**Disclaimer**: Alright… so I have to name quite a few things…. Firstly, I don't own Beyblade, but the same goes for Norton, the Paint program, and the board game Trouble (though… it's more like their slogan… either way….).

Chapter Fifteen: Knit Mitten To The Face

It was amazing how after a good laugh and sudden realization, students were able to become lively as they sat in their seats. Their grins and eager looks almost made Miss Kincaid doubt that she was within a classroom, not to mention about to teach one.

About being the keyword, morning exercises were already taken care of. Attendance, perfect surprisingly, was completed and sent on its way to the office and her two _favourite_ students were locked together for the final day. So really… all that was left was for her to teach.

But something was keeping Miss Kincaid from standing up and going through with the lesson plan, and it wasn't because of the unbelievably comfortable chair she was sitting on either. It was their eyes, their sparkling and joy ridden eyes that watched her with interest. And their grins, their over exaggerated and pure evil grins that made them look like they were about to burst with happiness at any second.

She noted a bored Tyson yawn as he sat back in his chair, and immediately every pair of eyes shot to look at him in their expectant ways. The boy froze quirking an eyebrow at them strangely.

"Uh… hi," he said awkwardly, having everyone sigh in a disappointed tone before looking away.

"What was that about?" Hilary murmured as quietly as she possibly could, glancing to Tyson curiously.

He shrugged, "What's anything about?"

"It's like they're waiting for us to do something," she stated, answering her own question, "For us to mess up, probably so they can call us out and finally win."

Tyson quirked an eyebrow at the brunette while an amused smile played on his face. "Paranoid much?" he laughed.

"I prefer cautious," Hilary frowned.

"Right," he said in mock seriousness, "_Cautious_."

"You should be too," she told him, "It's the last day and I'm pretty sure nobody in this room wants to write a test. We should expect the worst to happen."

"That's because the subject brings out the worst in people," Tyson sighed, "One time, this really nice kid threw his desk out the window because he couldn't solve for 'x'."

Hilary rolled her eyes, "Tyson, you made that up."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Because I've been in the same class as you since we started school," she reminded him, causing him to pause.

"Did I say school? I meant camp."

She stared at him momentarily before shaking her head. There was no use in arguing with him, they would just become someone else's source of entertainment.

"I was just trying to impress you," he said suddenly.

Hilary gave him an incredulous look, "How is some kid whipping a desk out a window supposed to impress me?"

"Throw Hilary, whip is such a negative word," Tyson corrected.

"Find me a situation where throw is used in positive connotation," she shot back.

"Fine!" he nodded, taking the challenge, "Just tell me what connotation means…."

Students began to glance back towards them, eyes ridden with excitement and expectancy as they grinned. Both paused to stare back, somewhat taken back by their straightforward nature.

"Um… kids…?" Miss Kincaid called as she slowly rose from her seat, clapping her hands in an attempt to gather their attention, "Look this way… _please_…?" And in reluctance, their eyes met hers in sadness, which was, oddly enough, a relief to the young woman, as they were not angry. "Please open up your math books to yesterday's homework… and Kenny, may I speak to you outside?"

"Ooh…," the class responded tauntingly, making the genius turn bright red as he also stood from his seat and made his way towards the door.

Miss Kincaid gave a vain attempt to hush the class before following the small boy outside the room. He watched her with a blank expression, waiting for what she had to say. Shuffling his weight from one foot to the other, he sighed.

"Well…?" Kenny implored, trying not to sound impatient from his nerves. It was his first time getting into trouble at school, and he found it to be a serious offence so his mind imagined various punishments.

"It's about… yesterday," she began.

"I figured," he said, his voice low.

"You didn't do it, did you?" Miss Kincaid questioned knowingly, her expression softened.

Kenny gaped, "H-how… d-did… you know? Who told you? Why didn't you say anything…?"

Miss Kincaid threw him a sympathetic smile, "Call it a hunch…. It was those kids you've been hanging around with lately, wasn't it?"

The boy stood there in silence for a moment, and then he begrudgingly shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know who it was…," he lied, much to her awareness, "There was really no evidence."

She tried not to look disappointed as she began to speak again. "That's true… so how about we just let the punishment slide this time," Miss Kincaid proposed.

"Don't you think that will give the class the wrong message?" Kenny asked, "They might try to undermine your authority."

Opening the door of the classroom for Kenny, she sighed, "Somehow I don't think that will be a problem…."

Kenny shrugged as he made his way towards his desk, numerous eyes following him. Four pairs specifically made him feel uneasy.

"Let's do a quick recap before we get some answers on the board…."

"Psst," the leader had turned around to face Kenny, a smile plastered on for effect, "Listen, me and the guys were talking and we've decided to drop you from the rest of our plans."

The boy could not believe his ears, leaning forward on his chair he questioned, "Are you serious?"

"Kenneth, you have been a valuable asset to our team and your patronage has been appreciated greatly," the second boy of the group told him, "As a gift, we would like to present you with _her_… please, take her as far from me as you can." Grinning, he pointed towards the sole female of the group.

"Uh… thanks," Kenny frowned, "But, no thanks."

Scowling, the girl crossed her arms, "You guys are way too immature; I'm no prize to be won."

"Well, no kidding," the second boy remarked, a smile playing on his lips, "Why would anyone _want_ to win you?"

"Anyways," the leader continued, "We can do everything on our own from now on, so… guess we'll see you later."

"That's… it?" Kenny said confused, "After all that torment you're just going to… let me go? No apologies or anything?"

"Do you still want to be in the group?" the leader questioned.

"Well… no," he admitted, scratching his head thoughtfully, "I just want to know why you want me out now."

"We voted," the girl shrugged, "You crowd our shade."

"That's not true at all," the second boy stated, "Mostly because I have no clue what that means…. We were talking and we figured that… hey, that guy's been through enough."

"So… you're not going to delete Dizzi?" Kenny asked with hopefulness.

"Who says we haven't already…?" the leader smirked evilly, causing the small boy to gasp.

And before they could say _Paint_, Kenny had pulled out his laptop and opened it. To his relief, a very sassy remark reached his ears as the voice visualized on the screen.

"Well long time, no see. Look who it is? Say you'll call, ignore me for a week then barge in without even knocking…. Honestly Chief…."

"Dizzi!" the boy cheered, nearly hugging his computer, overwhelmed with joy, "I'm sorry… I've been busy lately, how are you?"

"Well, I'm fine… Norton needs an update though…."

Jumping up from his seat, the second boy had leaped dramatically for Kenny's computer. His index finger out stretched as he leaned in for the kill, "_Escape_!"

Watching the boy blankly for a moment as he pressed the button a few times, Kenny sighed. "What are you doing…?" he frowned, "That doesn't even do anything."

"Really?" the boy paused, his hand retreating back to his side, "I thought it would do something dramatic like close down your computer and destroy millions of your files."

"Uh… no, sorry," Kenny shrugged, seeing the boy's shoulders slump in defeat. Then he began to close his laptop, much to Dizzi's unimpressed distress.

"Wow… looks like you really care about her," the girl rolled her eyes.

Kenny decided to ignore her, his attention back to the leader. "Thank you for letting me go," he smiled.

"We _are_ human," he shrugged, "We're not out to destroy you anyways, it's all about _them_. So don't worry your little head over anymore details, with my great intellect, I just thought up a spectacular idea."

"Did you hear that? Spectacular," the third boy grinned, "Now it has to be awesome."

Kenny watched as they turned away from him, a single sentence reaching his ears. "So do you have a mitten…?"

"Ahem…."

The group and Kenny turned to look at Miss Kincaid, text book in hand and blushing with embarrassment. But she had not been the one who had cleared their throat in impatience; that had come from the opposite end of the classroom.

"How rude can you be, disrupting an environment set out to teach children," Tyson complained, and with a sigh, he shook his head. "Miss Kincaid is trying to help us understand thorough knowledge about some problems we had for homework yesterday, but I bet you didn't do it anyways."

A snort was heard from the same direction of the room. Everyone had turned to face the locked pair; Hilary attempting not to laugh further at the boy's preaching.

Miss Kincaid almost felt tears brim within her eyes, but she held strong. Smiling, she called upon Tyson, "Would you mind putting up answer number one?"

Somewhat taken back, the boy paused temporarily before letting out another sigh. "I'd… love to, Miss Kincaid," he pulled a grin as he stood from his seat.

"As would I," the leader smiled pleasantly, giving a subtle wink to Kenny, "For number two, if that's alright?"

Both males were confirmed with a nod from Miss Kincaid. Yet unlike Tyson, the leader strode towards the chalkboard in confidence. The capped boy remained reluctant by his desk, students watching him with interest.

"It's like we're on television," Tyson murmured to Hilary as he grabbed his notebook and she had risen from her seat.

She gave him a strange look, "I don't think anyone would ever watch us with _this_ much intent…."

"Well not you," he smirked, "Unlike me, I'd definitely be a fan favourite."

Hilary rolled her eyes, "Oh, I bet."

The pair made their way towards the chalkboard, through the observant eyes in a slow pace. The latter was at the fault of Tyson, who had decided to stall for some reason. Hilary grew impatient, grabbing his arm; she pulled him against his will.

Tyson sent her a glare when they reached their destination. Merely giving him one back half heartedly, Hilary managed to make him chuckle.

"Long journey?" a snide remark broke the weird bliss between the handcuffed couple, and both had turned to look at the boy who was known as the leader by some. But the venom within his voice was hidden behind that overly pleasant smile of his. "How's the couple of the week?"

"Hey, you're the guy who gave us the key yesterday," Tyson pointed out, "Thanks again."

His eyebrows rose with surprise as he sent them a strange look. "Uh… right, no problem," the boy shrugged, "I'm just sorry Kenny did something so traitorous."

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Tyson told him, "We've patched things up, so everything's cool now."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked skeptically, "I mean… maybe he's just setting you up, how much can you really trust a traitor?"

Tyson had opened his mouth to reply when Hilary stepped in, her ruby eyes sparking in anger. "How dare you," she hissed, "Who do you think you are?"

To say the least, the boy was taken back by her abrupt attitude change. He gaped at her for a moment before he collected his thoughts and decided to scowl. "Hey, I'm just being smart," he told her, "You shouldn't make the same mistake twice."

"You don't even know Kenny," Hilary shot back.

"I don't know Kenny? I've been hanging around him for the past week because you and Tyson wanted to gaze into each other's eyes and make everyone around you sick," the boy sneered, losing his composure, the safety smile long gone. "So _Hil_, why don't you mind your own business."

"Hey," Tyson intervened, "Don't talk to her like that."

Hilary, on the other hand, focused on another part of his little speech. Clenching her hands into fists at her side, she pushed past the capped boy to come face to face with the leader. Her glare sliced through his nerves, causing him to become somewhat frightened. Gulping, he attempted to look brave.

The class watched in awe stricken silence, leaning forward, their mouths hanging open, with anticipation. Miss Kincaid fearfully hid behind her text book, her eyes peering over the top. The last thing she needed was this.

"What did you just call _me_?" the temperamental brunette demanded, her question hung in the air.

Tyson had never been on this particular side of a fight before, observing and not participating. And by the looks of the paler than usual boy that was against Hilary, a professional in the sport of debating, he was out of practice. Watching with interest, he already knew the outcome; that boy was going to eat his words.

"Well?" she snapped, tapping her foot impatiently.

"U-uh…," the leader stuttered, "Hil…."

"I warned you," Kenny said knowingly, shaking his head, "You're going to be sorry…."

"That's what I thought you called me," Hilary stated unimpressed, "But that really didn't make much sense to me…. Do you know why?"

The leader quickly shook his head, "N-no…."

Hilary lifted her arm up, forcefully dragging Tyson's along. Pointing to the metal contraption that tethered them together, she asked, "Do you know what these are?"

He shuffled his feet nervously for a moment. "Um… handcuffs," he answered.

"Good job," she smirked, and then she pulled Tyson closer, "Now… do you know who this is?" She now pointed towards the navy haired boy who waved wearing a smile.

"Tyson…," he said slowly.

"Tyson who?" she pondered.

"Tyson Granger," he stated.

"And do you know what's special about him?" Hilary asked, her voice becoming softer.

"Where do you begin," the capped boy murmured.

Smirking, the leader said, "My thoughts exactly…."

"He's earned it," she answered.

Tyson turned to her in surprise while the leader gave her a funny look. "That's it?" the boy said as he gestured towards the navy haired world champion who was practically beaming, "He _earned_ it? You don't earn rights to call people nicknames."

Hilary frowned, "It's a term of endearment, I barely even know you; I don't let most of my close friends even utter that name."

The leader had gained back his composure, feeling no longer threatened by the female before him. "Get off your golden pedestal, _Hil_," he rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Tyson said, pushing Hilary behind him somewhat, "That's Hil's joke, first of all. Second, I don't like the way you're talking to her."

"She ripped me apart first," the leader shrugged, ignoring the boy's angry disposition.

"Because you ripped apart Kenny," Tyson sighed, "And she's his friend… a true friend. She'll stay by anyone's side, no matter what. And if I earned the opportunity to call her Hil then I'm going to use it every chance I get. But if she doesn't want you _even_ thinking that name then, out of respect, I think you should stop. Now… don't you think you should apologize?"

"Um… let me think about it…," the leader sneered, "Hmm… no."

"Fine with me, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way," Tyson shrugged nonchalantly before cracking his knuckles.

The boy flinched, expecting pain, but was pleasantly surprised moments later. Rather than what was supposedly implied, Tyson continued to talk.

"Miss Kincaid, don't you think he should apologize for his actions?" he questioned. She lowered the text book slowly, smiling nervously; she decided to nod in agreement. "See?"

"That's the worst you can do…?" the leader raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Tyson paused, "Well… we could go to the principal…."

"That's not what I meant," he scowled, "I meant… that's the hard way? You tattled on me, ooh…."

"Technically, I didn't tattle, I didn't have to rush off and tell her the story. Thanks to you, everyone saw you're rudeness first hand… so ha ha, you're _so_ going to get in trouble."

"It's fun getting into trouble!" the second boy yelled lamely, causing Kenny to sigh.

"That's the board game…."

"What did you think I was going to do?" Tyson asked curiously.

"Well… hit me," the leader admitted.

Tyson gasped, "Hit you? What is with you people, I haven't hit a single person in my life?"

"_Ahem_."

"Shut-up Kenny…."

"I don't care how much you preach, I'm not going to apologize to your _girlfriend_," the leader crossed his arms in defiance.

"Fine… but how many of these girls will want to go out with you now that they think you're a jerk?" Tyson shrugged, "Plus they'll tell all their friends and soon… you'll be dateless. So… feel like apologizing?"

The leader shook his head, "Not really, I thought a lot of girls liked those kinds of guys. Isn't there one on your team?"

Tyson glanced back to Hilary who nodded. "He does get a lot of fan mail…," he begrudgingly decided, "But that's not the point, what I'm trying to say is… you shouldn't make the girl cry."

"I didn't," he deadpanned.

"Will you just apologize?" Tyson yelled.

"Tyson…," Hilary said gently, touching his hand to get his attention, "Calm down for a moment, let me handle this."

He was skeptical for a brief second, and then he gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, I guess," he waved his hand carelessly at the boy in front of him, "Don't be _too_ hard on him, he's not used to it like I am."

Smiling, she nodded to the request. But as quickly as it appeared, the friendly gesture vanished into a solemn look. "I'm sorry I started yelling at you," she apologized to the leader, "But you were talking about one of my best friends, and I couldn't just stand back and watch you bash him for a mistake he made."

The leader suddenly felt uncomfortable, he shifted under the heavy gazes of his classmates as low whispers were exchanged amongst students. Coughing into his hand in a fake manner, he looked at the chalkboard with interest. "Um… yeah," he said shakily, "It's just… everyone's entitled to their own… opinion… don't you think?"

"Everyone has rights," she agreed.

Letting out an irritated grunt, he gave the smug looking brunette a slight glare. "I'm sorry I called you _Hil_, okay?" he frowned, "I won't _say_ it ever again… if that will make you happy."

"Thank you," Hilary smiled, accepting the apology.

"Know what would make this moment even more special than it already is?" the second boy asked as he stood up from his seat, "A hug! Hugs are the bridge to happiness, what do you two say?"

"No!" Tyson burst out, protectively stepping in front of Hilary again. "I mean… uh… it… um… wouldn't work… uh… it's very difficult hugging people when you're handcuffed… so… I guess that's too bad…."

The second boy didn't buy it, crossing his arms, he smirked. "She hugs you all the time," he pointed out with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I think you're jealous."

"Aww!" the females of the classroom cooed, except for Hilary, she was incredulous of the confession.

The capped boy rubbed his neck in embarrassment as he exchanged a glance with the leader. "I hope you don't mind," he told him, "You don't hug Hilary and I won't get jealous, and you'll still be able to walk. A win/win situation if you ask me."

"But that's not fair," the second boy scowled, not seeing the pleading look for him to stop speaking from his boss, "You're stopping the construction of happiness! Miss Kincaid… what do you think?"

The class turned to see their teacher still clutching the text book, almost frozen in place. She stood in silence briefly before collecting her thoughts, "Um… well… i-it… would be nice… you know… if… well, if we could… continue with the math… before lunch…."

"Math?" Tyson said perplexed.

"Oh my gosh!" Hilary gasped from behind him, "The math! I'm so sorry Miss Kincaid, we shouldn't have disrupted class like that, we'll continue with the math problems. Right, Tyson?"

He still seemed confused by the change of subject matter though, as he turned to look at the girl. "What math?"

Grabbing the notebook he had been holding this whole time from his grasp, she hit him in the head with it lightly. "This math," she sighed, "Number one!"

Taking the notebook with a frown, he faced the chalkboard to do this work. This action created a lot of disapproving remarks from their peers and the leader reluctantly faced the board as well.

"This is a classroom, people," Hilary reminded, "Not a theatre, we're not here for your amusement."

Tyson chuckled quietly, "Haven't seen _you_ in a while."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she wondered.

Grinning, he shook his head, "Nothing at all… Hil."

Now that the room was at peace, students were discussing the events that had just occurred while awaiting the answers to some of their problems. Hilary, on the other hand, was pondering over a small detail.

"Hey Tyson," she whispered, curiosity was laced within her voice, "Would you have actually been jealous?"

He stopped flipping through his notebook so he could meet her gaze. "Uh…," he said shyly, glancing down to the paper as if it had some sort of answer for him, "He didn't actually hug you… so I don't know…."

"But if he did?" Hilary pressed the subject.

"Do I sense a touch of hope?" Tyson raised an eyebrow, though embarrassment was felt upon his behalf.

"I prefer curiosity," she told him.

"I don't," he said abruptly.

Hilary looked at him surprised, and they met one another's eyes for a moment. There wasn't a trace of regret in his gaze, just honesty.

Coughing, so he had a reason to turn his head, he looked to the tiles of the floor. "I prefer hope," Tyson stated, leaving it at that.

"Sorry…," she said, feeling bad about what had just happened between them.

"Don't sweat it," Tyson shook his head, "There are bigger things in the world to dwell on."

She nodded in agreement, but was unconvinced of his nonchalance.

"For example…," he murmured, leaning closer in Hilary's direction. She jumped with surprise, which made him recoil in confusion. "Woah… are you okay?"

"Having trouble?" the leader questioned half way through writing his answer on the board.

"We're fine," Tyson told him plainly, his attention focused on Hilary as she smiled sheepishly.

"Whatever," the leader shrugged, going back to the math problem. "Hey Tyson, what did you get for number two?"

"Uh…," he stalled, fumbling with the notebook in his hands. But the brunette realized he wasn't even looking at the pages as he answered their fellow classmate. "Two…?"

"No, it's…," the smirk faded off of his face as he replied, "Oh… thanks, I guess."

Hilary made sure the annoying boy had turned away before she grabbed Tyson's arm and made him look at her. "You hypocrite," she whispered.

Tyson nervously smiled, "I have no clue what you're talking about…."

"Don't lie," she said.

"Fine… I didn't do my homework. But it was only because I didn't understand," Tyson admitted, "I don't have beauty _and_ brains like you do, Hil."

She rolled her eyes, "Nice try."

"Darn, I really thought that would work," he stated, "You are going to help me… right? I don't want to look like a jerk in front of the whole class."

"I really don't see why I should," Hilary sighed, "I thought you were going to treat school more seriously."

"I know," Tyson frowned, "But… uh, have I mentioned how beautiful you look today?"

She smirked, "That's not going to work."

"I would throw you a line if you were drowning," Tyson told her, "Hey… was that positive connotation?"

Ignoring his question, Hilary answered, "You're not drowning; you're being an idiot."

The capped boy was about to respond when chuckling was heard from behind. Turning to face the leader again, the boy shook his head, "Nice to see a lovers' quarrel up close; it doesn't look like you two are having a very good day today. That's too bad."

"We're grand, thanks for your constant interest in our actions," Tyson scowled.

"I have something to say to you," the leader said.

"I got the impression when you're mouth didn't stop moving," Tyson sighed, "What do you want?"

The leader reached into his jeans' pocket, revealing a multicoloured mitten. And with one swift movement, the knitted masterpiece had stricken the capped boy across the face, much to his surprise. "Prepare for your day to get worse!" he challenged, "Team, reveal our emblem."

The handcuffed pair watched skeptically as the leader and three others unveiled… black t-shirts.

"Um… wow," Hilary said, searching for the right words, "That's… something."

"Dude, that wasn't a white glove at all," Tyson rolled his eyes, "And what's up with the shirts?"

"Fear the words," the leader explained.

"Can you turn around then?" Tyson inquired.

The leader was confused, "Why… they're on the front?"

"Did you put it on backwards?" Hilary asked.

"Or maybe inside out?" Tyson added.

"No," the boy answered, pointing at just above his heart, "It's right there."

They approached the boy, squinting at the shirt that was apparently not blank. "Hey! I think I see something," Tyson said after a moment of searching, "It says… dump… or maybe that's own… and… and something about… what's that say, tires?"

"What does that have to do with us?" Hilary questioned, giving the boy a bizarre look, "What would we possibly want with tires?"

"That's not what it says!" the leader stated, "It says TyH-…. I… can't say it…. Hold on…." Grabbing a piece of chalk, he wrote a five letter word on the board. "It says, down with…."

"TyHil?" the pair said in unison.

"Yep," he nodded.

"I'm assuming that's us," Hilary sighed.

"So… we're going down?" Tyson questioned.

The leader grinned, "Indeed."

"Isn't this a little over the top?" Hilary frowned, "Honestly… you made t-shirts and smacked Tyson with a mitten; don't you think that's a little…."

"Tacky," Tyson concluded.

The boy's face fell, "You think?"

"Oh, we concur," the capped boy nodded.

"I knew it…," the leader scowled, turning to his team mates, "What were you guys thinking?"

"Hey!" Tyson yelled suddenly, realization dawning on him, "You're, oh wait… one… two… three…, yeah, you're the four kids who have been making Kenny go against us."

"I'm stunned," the leader lied, "You think that we _made_ Kenny do that stuff…? You must have evidence then, go on Tyson… tell us how you came to this decision."

Hilary glanced at her partner, giving him a warning for him to keep his mouth shut. Which he did surprisingly; he looked to the floor in defeat.

"Now, don't you feel awful for accusing us of such an awful deed?" the leader sighed, "Who needs to apologize now?"

"Depends," Tyson muttered under his breath, "You're not going to need a hug afterwards, are you?"

"I don't know," the leader shrugged, "Are we talking about from you, or Hilary?"

That had earned him a glare from Tyson, but fortunately, no threats had reached his ears. And Hilary had taken the capped boy's hand again, pulling him away from the leader's smug smile.

"Math…?" Miss Kincaid broke the silence with her frail voice. Nobody really responded directly other than the leader who shrugged, walking away from the couple and his complete answer on the board.

Hilary stared at Tyson, his expression softened as the sneer he wore transferred into a smile. Shuffling his feet in a shy manner, he gave a carefree sigh.

"If I admit I'd be jealous… will you give me the answer to number one?"

**A/N**: Kind of a weird chapter… I know, but hopefully it was good. Again, I'm very sorry for the delay, I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as I can. Reviewing would be super awesome as well; thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 16: Pudding It To You

**A/N**: This has just been sitting on my computer waiting to be uploaded… so I finally decided to; surprisingly, this didn't take long to write at all. Thank you to those that reviewed: **Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover**, **sanaa**, **NKingy**, **Sony89**, **dong-chun-mei**, **Kendo** **Baby**, **Musee.Picasso**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **shadowtailmon**, **Unfunny Joke**, **Party in the** **Afterlife**, **Silverstar335**, **darkheart1992** and **MasterBrattan**!

**Disclaimer**: Hmm… I'm pretty sure I just don't own Beyblade for this chapter….

Chapter Sixteen: Pudding It To You

"Miss Kincaid… are you sure you're okay?"

The young teacher looked tiredly at the straying students who crowded around her desk, their expressions displaying worry. Forcing a smile, she decided to lie through her teeth.

"I'm fine, now… go to lunch."

Children began to file out of the room in reluctance, but a couple had chosen to remain. She locked gazes with those students; Tyson and Hilary stood in defiance by her desk.

"Is there anything we can do for you, Miss Kincaid?" Hilary asked, "Do you need more water, or maybe coffee?"

"Or maybe you should just go home, you look terrible," Tyson stated grimly, earning him a nudge from the brunette, "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"Not under any circumstance do you tell women that they look bad," Hilary scolded, "Do you think that we _want_ to hear that? No, so where do you get off…?"

"Okay, alright, I got it!" he interrupted, holding up his free hand in defence, "I thought you girls valued honesty?"

She thought about that fact for a moment, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Well… it all really depends," Hilary sighed, "If you're going to call people hideous though…."

"I didn't even use the word hideous," Tyson retorted, "I said terrible… she looks bad! She looks like she's going to hurl or something; if she's sick, she should go home! If I'm being concerned, why am I getting in trouble?"

"Because you're being a jerk about it," the brunette pointed out, "If you used nice words more often you may just seem nicer."

Staring at her blankly, Tyson quirked an eyebrow at her statement. "Uh… thank you, captain obvious," he laughed, "What's your next lesson, mean words make you meaner?"

Hilary glared at him, "No, apparently they make you Tyson…."

"Um… kids?" Miss Kincaid said, breaking one of the pair's enthusiastic conversations off, "Thank you for your concern and all, but maybe you should run along. I'll be fine, just need to get back some of my energy."

"Oh, if you're sure," Tyson nodded, "But… can we talk to you about something first?"

The teacher sensed the seriousness within his voice and for this particular boy to express that aspect about himself meant it was important. So folding her hands on her lap, she turned to face them directly, giving them her full attention.

"Of course Tyson, now, what would you like?" she responded, troubled by their solemn expressions.

"We're really sorry about what happened earlier," Hilary began, "And we just wanted to tell you that we're sure we can win this whole thing, regardless of our rough start."

"Why would what happened this morning affect your chances of winning?" Miss Kincaid asked, "If anything… I thought that it had shown that you two had made _real_ progress."

"Really?" Tyson smiled.

Nodding, she smiled back, "Besides, you weren't fighting against one another; you were working together. You were still arguing, granted… but I have never been more proud of you two."

"To be honest, you looked more mortified than anything," Tyson pointed out sheepishly.

Miss Kincaid blushed at the comment; she had not realized that they actually acknowledged her reactions to those types of situations. "Oh," she said, "Anyways… I've learned something from witnessing you two today."

"What's that, Miss Kincaid?" Hilary questioned curiously.

"You may say you hate one another, you may call each other names, and you may even say some hurtful words to each other," Miss Kincaid stated, "But you may also care about one another deep down inside… and that may just be the most dangerous."

Tyson looked at the female he was locked to for a second, and then his attention was back on their teacher. "I think that's the first thing you taught all year that I can actually understand right from the beginning…," he said softly.

"It's nice to know that under all that bickering that you two care about each other, and that you respect and value your _relationship_," Miss Kincaid smiled, "Because sometimes you have to wonder…."

Hilary nodded in agreement, "Thank you Miss Kincaid, and believe me… I know."

"You two should really get going, you don't want to spend all of your lunch in here," she told them, "Get something to eat, it will help you get through the rest of the day."

That was when Tyson's eyes flashed with concern as he turned to face the brunette. "And some of us haven't eaten yet," he scolded Hilary, "Come on…."

Sighing, she turned to wave to their teacher as Tyson nearly dragged her out, "I hope you feel better Miss Kincaid!"

"Thank you," she replied, watching them exit the room. Resting her head on the desk with a relieved sigh, they had not heard her mutter one last statement as they entered the stairway, "Oh thank God…."

Slowly walking down the steps, the capped boy watched Hilary carefully. "You're okay, right? You don't feel weak? If you're going to faint I can find a way to carry you," he rambled on, earning him a strange look from the female, "It might be a little difficult… but I'm sure I can find a way if I have to."

"That's alright Tyson, I'm fine," Hilary told him plainly, finding his overprotective attitude a little weird. Then, as they continued to descend the stairs, she turned abruptly on him, causing him to almost fall onto her. Though he did manage to stop that fate, he ended up losing his balance and falling backwards to end on a step roughly. "Are you even going to thank me?"

Rubbing his back in pain, he shot her a look, "I can honestly say that didn't cross my mind…."

"Figures, typical male behaviour," Hilary frowned down at the boy as she towered over him.

"Fine… thank you, Hilary," he sighed.

Her gaze narrowed into a glare, "You don't even know _why_, do you Tyson?"

"Of course I know why," he said, pretending as if he was hurt by her accusation, "It's because you did that thing… and it helped me out… and I forgot to thank you?"

"And that thing _was_?" Hilary asked.

"Well… you obviously already know," Tyson smiled nervously.

"I should've just let you taken the fall for not doing your homework," she stated, pulling him to his feet so that they could continue on their way. "Maybe it would've given you a sense of responsibility."

Tyson frowned, "Hil, I appreciate what you did. And if I forgot to thank you, then you have my apologies as well. But… we did trade information… in a way."

"I guess," she admitted before a smile graced her features, "And you were _pretty_ jealous… so it was worth it."

Entering the main hallway, he glanced to her in disagreement. "Oh I don't think so," Tyson denied, "Me jealous? Hardly."

Smirking, she decided to challenge that statement, "Really?"

"Of course," he confirmed with a nod.

"Excuse me," Hilary said to a boy who had just begun to pass them in the hall. Stopping, he turned to face her with confusion that vanished just as quickly as it had come. She enveloped the random boy with a hug as Tyson stood by, baffled. Smiling once she pulled away, she waved, "Have a nice day!"

The pair watched the boy walk away, looking somewhat perplexed. He shot them a final look over his shoulder before he broke out into a run.

Tyson stared at the brunette with a blank expression, and slowly it crumpled into a scowl. "What was that?" he questioned.

Poking him in the chest with her finger, she shrugged, "Proving you wrong… I forgot how gratifying it felt."

"You wish," Tyson rolled his eyes as they walked side by side, "And I wasn't jealous, that guy didn't stand a chance with you."

"And why not?" Hilary inquired.

"Because you're locked to the man of your dreams," he grinned.

Snorting, she retorted, "Try nightmares."

"Even better," Tyson decided, "Running towards you through a field of flowers isn't as important as protecting you from something you're scared of." Noticing that her expression suddenly became saddened, he frowned. "What?"

"Hmm? Oh… it's just that you took my insult and made it seem sweet," Hilary told him, "Suffering the loss of an argument…."

He laughed, "I see…. You'd think you would be used to it by now, losing I mean."

She rolled her eyes, "You're a riot."

"You guys!" Kenny exclaimed, catching both of their attention. He ran up to them from his place by the closed cafeteria doors, "You will not believe how happy I am to see you."

"Really? That's great," the navy haired boy smiled at the genius, "Well… me and Hil have to go, see you later!"

"Wait!" Kenny told them, "You don't want to go in there, trust me."

"What do you mean? We have to go in there. Hilary hasn't eaten anything all day and she's feeling faint," Tyson stated.

Frowning, the girl reminded, "I said I was fine."

"See? She's delusional," Tyson sighed.

"Tyson, as a friend, I'm telling you… you do not want to go in there," the brown haired genius pleaded, his tone seemed urgent.

"Kenny, as a reminder, I'm asking… do you really want to get in the way of me and food?" the capped boy inquired.

Knowing he was defeated, the male brunette's shoulders slumped. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he frowned, moving out of their way.

Tyson shot him a strange look as they opened the cafeteria doors. But the silence of the room caught his attention, and soon his gaze scanned the scene with interest.

"What…?" Hilary question skeptically.

"Welcome!" a voice boomed; the leader stood on top of a table as he was surrounded by a large group of smirking students. Three particular peers of theirs held back the crowd, their arms crossed over their emblems.

"Oh, not you again…," Tyson sighed, "This is why Kenny tried to stop us… because of you? What a laugh; so what is this anyways?"

"We're here to stop you," the second boy shrugged, "We've taken control of this section of the school, so you're now in our territory."

"What?" Tyson growled, "What did you do with the lunch ladies, if you hurt them…."

"Don't worry," the third boy told him, "We merely treated them to a day with real food."

"You better hope so for your sa-… wait, what do you mean _real_ food?" Tyson questioned.

"Who really cares if you have the cafeteria anyways?" Hilary shrugged, "You can have it if it means so much to you, Tyson and I will just leave."

"I don't think you guys understand, I slapped Tyson with a mitten for a reason," the leader stated, kneeling on the table for a moment. The pair was unable to see why though, until he stood up again, his hand covered in a chocolate glob of a substance. "We're _pudding_ it to you."

A deadly silence followed that comment; stares were exchanged amongst the two groups, that was, before laughter erupted on behalf of Tyson and Hilary. Almost doubling over, the capped boy stopped himself from falling by resting his hands on his knees; the brunette, on the other hand, put her hand on his arm to prevent herself from losing her balance.

"Please… _lettuce_ go!" Hilary giggled even harder at her comment.

"He can't, we've been _raisin_ too much trouble lately," the navy haired boy roared.

Students began to chuckle, stifling their laughter with their hands. Most attempted to conceal their smiles as well, looking away from the unimpressed group leader.

"You're right Tyson, we _butter_ do what he says," Hilary beamed, "We don't want him to have a meltdown."

"Ahem," the sole girl of the original four frowned, stepping forward to face the hysterical duo. "We don't mean to be _rutabaga_, but can you please stop?"

"Rutabaga…?" the second boy questioned, "What is that supposed to sound like?"

"Rude to beg ya," the girl shrugged, "I thought it was pretty clever."

Her ally merely rolled his eyes, "Well, then you know it's a grand idea…. What are you, trying to _egg_ them on?"

"Will all of you just shut-up?" the leader snapped, ceasing all laughter. His hand clutched the chocolate substance as he stared down the suddenly still pair. "Well…?"

Tyson smiled, "What's wrong; need a moment to _ketch-up_?"

Brining his arm back, the leader smirked at his smug looking opponent. "You're going to be sorry that you two were ever locked together," he told the capped boy, the pudding slipping slowly down his hand as he held it in the air, "Eat this!"

Tyson's survival instincts suddenly kicked in, he quickly grabbed Hilary's hand and began to run. The chocolate substance just missed the pair as they bolted towards a lonesome cafeteria table on the opposite side of the room. Leading her, the world champion ran across the top of the table to fall purposely on the floor.

"Help me lift this up," he said, quickly recovering from the crash. She nodded and they soon had the long table on its side for a cover. "We need to find a way out of this…."

"There's only one exit," Hilary reminded, "And _we_ ran away from it."

"Let's not play the blame game right now, it's two against… _way_ too many," Tyson stated, "They're not stupid enough to leave the only exit unprotected, so we're just going to have to beat them at their own game."

"And how are we going to do that…?" Hilary questioned.

Food began to splatter on the wall ahead of them in an attempt to make them scatter, as well as some on the floor a few steps away from where they sat. Watching it in silence for a second, he decided that the group's actions were closing in on them.

"Come on, we got to move further down… keep low," Tyson whispered.

Beginning to crawl on the floor, hidden by their defence from their enemies, Hilary murmured a question that came to her mind. "Why aren't they just coming to get us?"

"They're trying to make us sweat," Tyson sighed as they soon came to a stop; he watched the group's continued aims in attacking at where they had been. "Too bad that's not going to work, I've got a plan."

Hilary turned to look at him curiously, "So… what is the plan?"

"We're just going to even the odds," Tyson grinned, taking Dragoon out of his pocket.

The brunette remained confused, "I still don't follow…."

"Just watch," he told her, "I don't want it to lose any of its magic…. But listen Hilary, it's going to make everything a lot more hectic within the room, they just won't be all aiming at us."

She stared at him silently for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Just be careful," she smiled.

"Will do," Tyson said, preparing his beyblade for launch. Facing the wall closest to him, he pulled the rip cord, releasing Dragoon in a shot that ricocheted against the wall and fell on its way towards a giant tub of pudding. "Time for a chocolate hurricane, Dragoon."

Triggering its attack, the beyblade shot out chunks of the substance at the back of peoples' heads. This caused multiple students to yelp out in surprise while Dragoon jumped out of the tub and made its way slowly back to Tyson. Managing to keep spinning until it reached the table, the chocolate made it lag to a stop.

"Great job," the navy haired boy congratulated the device as he picked it up, "Uh… do you think Kenny's going to mind the mess?"

Hilary sighed, "I don't really think he has a choice…."

"You guys!" was a frustrated call that came suddenly, causing Tyson and Hilary to slowly peek over the table. Students were now throwing food at one another, screams and laughter filled the room. "You're not supposed to be throwing food at each other; you're supposed to be gaining up on _them_!"

"Oh, awesome," the navy haired boy grinned, "I knew it would work."

"Hey! They moved!" the third boy exclaimed, pointing towards the handcuffed pair as he lobbed a handful of pudding at them. Multiple other foods sailed in the air as well, all directed at the same target.

"Get down!" Tyson shouted as he practically tackled his female partner to the floor; some of the cafeteria products made contact with the boy before he was sprawled out on the ground.

Hilary gasped, "Tyson…? Are you okay?" Crouching on the floor, she shuffled closer to the capped boy she was locked to. "What were you thinking?"

Opening his eyes slowly, he shifted his head to gaze at her tiredly. "You're wearing lighter shades of clothing than I am…," he murmured, "It would've stained…."

Resting her hand on his arm, she smiled, "You're a true hero."

"Yeah…," he said, sitting up somewhat, "Are heroes supposed to feel sticky?" Tyson looked down at his attire, he was now stained with chocolate pudding, mustard, ketch-up and what appeared to be traces of slushies.

"If this is what happens to you in a matter of seconds, how on earth are we going to make it to the door?" Hilary sighed.

"That's exactly it, Hil," Tyson decided, "I'm already a goner, so if I cover you… we can make it to the door."

"I can't ask you to do that," she told him, "You already look terrible enough."

He wiped some mustard off of his face, looking at her unimpressed. "You can say that I look hideous, but I can't mention someone looks bad?" he questioned.

"I didn't say hideous," Hilary stated.

"Neither did I," he protested.

She paused, "Let's not play the blame game."

"So it's settled then?" Tyson inquired, "The hideous monster… oops, I mean me, is going to cover the great Hilary as we make a break for it?"

"If you're positive," the brunette frowned.

He shrugged, "Just make sure you stay between me and the wall, that way they can't get a clear hit of you."

Hilary nodded, "Okay…."

The pair got into position at the end of the table, Tyson gripped her hand protectively as they crouched beside one another. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Nodding again, she confirmed, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay… at the count of three we're going to run along the perimeter of these walls until we reach the door," Tyson explained, giving her a thoughtful look, "One… two… three!"

Taking off in a sudden sprint had not gotten them very far, it had caught a majority of the students' attention and soon they were surrounded. Tyson cursed under his breath as he took a step backwards, protecting Hilary at a close distance. It seemed they were at a standstill when the leader pushed his way to the front of the semi-circle, smirking all the same.

"Shouldn't have left your hiding place," the leader stated, shaking his head at their mistake.

"Maybe," Tyson shrugged nonchalantly.

Grinning, the boy glowered, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this…."

"Wait!" a voice exclaimed from within the crowd, and soon after, Kenny ran in front of the pair. "What are you doing?"

The leader scowled, "Get out of the way Kenny…."

"What is this going to prove?" the genius sighed, continuing to stand in-between the two groups. "This isn't going to change a thing."

"I'm warning you," the leader said, crossing his arms.

"Warning him, what are you going to do?" the second boy inquired as he and the other two allies broke through the crowd.

Glancing to the boy, he shrugged, "I'm going to teach him a lesson for betraying us…."

"Betray us? We… we let him go, sir… so he didn't have to hurt his friends anymore," the girl reminded, "He's not doing anything wrong…."

"Do you really think so?" the leader sneered.

"I know it's hard to believe… but she's right," the second boy confirmed, "If you do this… it wouldn't be right."

"I don't really care," the leader stated, "Everyone… let's go with ketch-up, don't squirt 'til I give the command."

"Kenny, go!" Tyson told him, urgency and concern weighed in his voice, "You really don't need to do this… we can handle this ourselves."

The genius glanced back to his friends thoughtfully, he smiled, "Don't worry about it Tyson, I'm not doing this because I have to, it's because I want to…. I haven't been much of a friend lately, and I want to show you that I'm willing to stand the test of ketch-up for you guys."

"You have one more chance to run," the leader smirked, "Three… two… one, let it squirt!"

Ketch-up from all sides bombarded Kenny as he fell to his knees. "Eww!" he screamed, hiding his face with his arms until he fell further to the floor. Laying on his side in the fetal position, the red substance was being slowly ceased to a stop.

Silence filled the room, and those that held ketch-up bottles let their arms fall back to their sides. The leader shifted his feet, feeling uneasy as the boy laid unmoving on the ground.

Hilary pressed her head against Tyson's shoulder, hiding her face in his jacket. "How does he look?" she whispered.

"Like we couldn't get a better budget," Tyson murmured back, earning him a punch. "Ouch… well it does."

"Is… is he breathing?" the second boy questioned cautiously, stepping forward to get a better look at the small boy.

The third boy sighed, "Dude, it's ketch-up."

The girl gasped at her friend's statement. "You're right!" she shouted, approaching Kenny while she faced their peers, "Everyone stay back, it's okay… I know CPR!"

Bolting upwards, Kenny raised his hands to tell her to stop. "Stay right there, I'm fine," he stated, "Just… just don't come any closer, truly, I'm perfectly dandy, never been better."

"Wow… you're a miracle worker," the second boy snorted, "Hospitals should hire you."

The girl giggled, shrugging shyly at the _compliment_. "Aw, thanks. I try to help people to the best of my abilities."

"You sure you're alright, Chief?" Tyson asked as his friend stood up from the floor.

"It's just a little ketch-up," Kenny smiled, approaching his navy haired friend, "Though it is a little gross…."

"Aww, that's so sweet," the leader smirked, swiftly pointing at the three friends, "Now you can all face the wrath of pudding together!"

Then the cafeteria doors swung open, causing students to look over their shoulders in curiosity. And instantly after this motion the sound of ketch-up bottles hitting the floor was heard. Slowly, the children who had merely followed the group's instructions began to back away.

"Uh-oh…," the third boy muttered.

"It's the principal," Hilary breathed, looking over the capped boy's shoulders.

"I've never been happier to see him in my life," Tyson noted quietly.

The man had entered the room; his hands were folded together behind his back as his eyes scanned the messy environment. Sighing with disdain, he glanced over the main students – beginning with an unsurprised gaze at Tyson and ending with a knowing look at the leader. "I like what you've done with the place," the principal stated, almost tiredly, "Care to talk to me about the design in my office?"

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the leader decided to speak for everyone, "Sounds… grand."

**A/N**: I'm not going to lie… I wrote this chapter purely for the puns, I thought they were amusing. The people I tested them out on… not so much. Anywho, please review and tell me what you think!


	18. Chapter 17: Troublemakers, Chairs For 6

**A/N**: Well… uh… this didn't take long at all to update…. Heh, I'm really sorry about that by the way. Between exams a long time ago and having a case of Writer's Block I really just didn't feel like writing; speaking of which… this chapter isn't the best thing I've ever written and it is full of some weird stuff. A word of warning, there is a joke poking fun of Canada within the chapter… so if you're over emotional about that kind of stuff… uh… yeah, sorry. I'm Canadian so I figured why not. Anywho… onto more important issues, I would like to thank the following for reviewing: **thebrave918**, **Stewey-The Insane One**, **NKingy**, **dong-chun-mei**, **Moonlight Serenity**, **Sony89**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Unfunny Joke**, **Party in the Afterlife**, **Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover**, **Musee.Picasso**, **Muffinsweetz**, **Kendo Baby** and **ezza**.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Beyblade or anything else that is probably obviously not mine I may have forgotten. Just covering some bases here….

Chapter Seventeen: Troublemakers, Chairs For Six

"If I could be anywhere in the world right now…," Kenny drawled, glancing at the handcuffed pair he sat beside outside the principal's office, "I would rather be home. But I don't think my mom would be too impressed with my clothes."

Tyson sighed with sympathy, "Good luck getting those stains out…."

"Hmm," he grunted in agreement, "Well… I told her that I should've stayed home today, but _no_. It's the end of the week, what could possibly happen?"

"Son's revenge," the capped boy smiled as he slouched in the all too familiar chair, "Kenny feels he's being pressured into going to school so he turns to an all out food fight in the cafeteria for help. Now… where did they put the ketch-up?"

"Granger, you honestly don't have a life," the second boy smirked from his seat beside Hilary.

For the past hour, the two groups, plus Kenny, were seated in the office as they waited for the principal to be done speaking with the leader. And for the most part, the six children had been pretty civil to one another within periods of silence. But one statement can create wonders….

"What's your problem with me?" Tyson questioned.

"I don't think you understand how close we were to losing him," the girl answered for her team mate, "If I hadn't been there just imagine what would've happened to poor Kenny…."

"Yes… let's," the second boy rolled his eyes, "You can even go first. Just close your eyes real tight and think, but don't speak. Focus on those voices inside your head and we'll hear them too."

The girl stared at him in awe, "Really…? That is so awesome! Okay… okay, I'm going to go!" Closing her eyes tightly, she curled her hands into fists in front of her.

"Anyways…," Kenny said, "How about you, Tyson? If you could be anywhere else in the world right now, where would you be?"

The capped boy thought about it for a second before coming to a decision. "Canada."

"Why would you _want_ to go to Canada?" Kenny turned to him perplexed.

Tyson paused, "True."

"What do you say Hilary?" the genius questioned, his head tilted in her direction as he leaned forward in his seat to see her. "Anywhere you would rather be than right here?"

Hilary had not spoken an awful lot since they had arrived at the principal's office. She merely sat in the chair as if it was impossible to be comfortable in it while she stared blankly into space. Her attention slowly travelled to the boys who sat to her right.

"Jail," she answered softly.

"Um… okay," Kenny retorted awkwardly, "Why?"

"Well I'm already _here_!" Hilary exclaimed annoyed, "It's going to be on my record, I'll never be accepted into University… I have no future…. And do you know whose fault it is?"

Tyson rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry, okay…? Wait… hey; it's not even my fault this time. Let's hear it for me, I didn't ruin her life!"

"Yet…," murmured the second boy, stifling a smile that threatened his lips.

"Excuse me?" the capped boy growled.

"That's not even the point…," Hilary frowned, and then she let out a loud, disappointed sigh, "I am now a failure…."

"Oh, come on," Tyson told her, "Because you were in a food fight you didn't even start or assist some guy isn't going to let you into his school? Sorry Miss Tatibana, we don't allow people who hide behind tables from pudding onto our premises, we're going to have to call security. What, how do I know this pointless information? Well, I stalk you of course."

Kenny agreed, "He does have a point."

"He still doesn't get it," Hilary mumbled.

"Fine, look at it this way then," Tyson sighed, "I've been here millions of times, and just look at where I'm heading."

The female brunette's eyes widened at the statement and the second boy snorted. "Don't scare the girl," he said cheekily.

"I'm not scaring her," Tyson protested.

"Well…," Hilary said.

"Oh my God, I was just trying to help you!"

"Guys!" Kenny shouted, "I think all of you need to shut-up, bickering isn't going to solve or change anything. We need to get along like all teenagers do."

"You realize how stupid that last statement sounded, right?" the second boy scowled.

"Ugh," the genius sighed, "I give up."

There was a brief silence where everyone kept to themselves. Kenny sat back in his chair, Tyson slouched further in a brooding manner, the girl continued to meditate her thoughts and the other two boys stared off into space. While Hilary, on the other hand, looked thoughtfully at the boy to her left.

"So how about you?" the brunette smiled, "Where would you rather be than right here?"

Her sudden voice caught not only the second boy's attention, but Tyson's as well. The capped boy quirked an eye brow at his partner as she faced one of their opponent's out of curiosity.

"Are you asking me?" the second boy questioned in puzzlement.

"Yes," she laughed, "It's your turn."

"Oh," he said, acknowledging the fact. He then peered upwards toward the ceiling in thought, "Hmm… probably whatever is furthest from… her." He jerked his head in the direction of the other girl beside him.

"I'm with you," Kenny muttered.

"She can't be that bad," Tyson stated.

"You're clearly insane," the genius retorted.

"Have you been around someone who goes through mood swings so much you're pretty sure she's a few bulbs short of the box?" the second boy asked.

"Everyday of the past week," Tyson sighed.

Hilary turned to glare at him, "Excuse me?"

"See, it just happened," he pointed out.

"You seriously have problems," the brunette decided.

"At least I don't fraternize with the enemy," Tyson snapped, "This is why I like hanging out with the guys better, at least they don't make eyes with our opponents."

"Are you kidding me, can you say Max?" she ventured.

"Max," Tyson mocked, "Oh look, now the answers are right in front of me. I can finally understand the nonsense that comes out of your mouth."

"You know what, I'm not even going to bother," Hilary rolled her eyes, "Something must've hit you in the head a little too hard while we were in the cafeteria…."

"I don't know Hil… ary, I meant Hilary," the second boy laughed nervously before clearing his throat loudly and continuing, "I felt something a moment ago; a spark, a flame, maybe even an earthquake… and I think you felt it too."

"Aha!" Tyson shouted, pointing towards them, "I knew it, how could you do this to me?"

"Gee, I don't know…. I guess I just couldn't help myself, for the past week we've been _locked_ together I've went behind your back to see him," Hilary sighed.

"And that's why we're…," the second boy paused dramatically, "Building a laser!"

Tyson stared incredulously, "Um…?"

"So we can blast away your handcuffs and run away together," the second boy stated, "We thought it was pretty obvious…."

"Oh man, a laser? Why didn't we think of…? Wait, are you guys mocking me?" Tyson frowned, giving them a suspicious look.

"_Mocking_… you?" he gasped, "Never."

"For some reason I don't believe you," the capped boy scowled.

"I can't imagine why," the boy said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Wait…," Kenny interrupted, entering the conversation in curiosity, "Tyson, are you saying you two never thought of destroying the handcuffs?"

The navy haired boy looked at his friend before shaking his head. "No actually. Where were we going to get a laser anyways?" he shrugged.

"That's why _we're_ building one," the second boy rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

Tyson merely ignored him. "Why?"

"Huh? Oh… why did I think you would try to destroy the handcuffs?" the genius guessed, earning him a slight nod. "Well… no offense, but I just thought you would try to do something stupid like that."

"Don't be silly, Chief," the world champion waved his hand dismissively, "I don't even know how to build a laser, why would I try?"

"I think he meant in general Tyson, not just lasers," Hilary told him matter-of-factly, "But that might just be my common sense kicking in."

The capped boy quirked an eye brow in her direction as a gasp was heard on behalf of the second boy. "Are you going to let her talk to you like that? Like you are some child? Aren't you a world champion beyblader?" the boy shook his head sadly, "I think you've earned some respect."

"Well… I don't know, she always talks to me like that," Tyson shrugged, resulting in an angered glare. Laughing nervously, he added, "Besides… it wasn't like it was cruel and hurtful… at all…."

"I think I want to break up with you…," Hilary scowled, hiding her face in her free hand out of annoyance at the second boy's antics.

"I can change!" Tyson shouted.

Yet at the same time, the second boy had declared, "Fine with me, you've changed!"

Hilary rolled her eyes, "I was talking to my fake boyfriend."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Tyson, looks like I win."

"_Hey_!"

"I meant laser boy," the brunette clarified.

"That still really doesn't clear things up," the second boy sighed, "Though I'm leaning towards him."

"Don't lean towards me," Tyson frowned, "You might… fall out of your chair… or… something."

"Good one…."

"I was talking about _you_," Hilary stated, pointing towards the second boy. He attempted to look shocked as the capped boy cheered in victory.

"Whatever. Like I said before… you've changed. When this all started I was but a boy building a laser to free you from disaster, giving you what you've always loved. A test, oh and what a test it would've been," the second boy cried dramatically, "Full of multiple choice questions dying to be circled or coloured in depending on Miss Kincaid's desire. But your desire for this monstrosity grew aflame! And it flickers and sparks while I sit here… torn and shattered… withered. Well goodbye Hilary, goodbye!"

"Wow… all this for a nonexistent relationship?" Tyson raised an eye brow, "How sad is that?"

The second boy sneered, "Better than your story."

"Probably," he shrugged, "Since we don't have one."

"Yeah, and I don't have a name…," the boy stuck his tongue out childishly.

"_Ahem_," came the dry tone of their principal suddenly, the man had opened the door to stick his head out in disappointment. "Can I ask why you feel the need to shout in my office?"

"Sure you can," the second boy muttered under his breath, glancing to the adult cautiously.

"Well…? Why were all of you shouting?"

"What, Sir?" Tyson asked loudly, suppressing a grin, "I can't hear you because I've went deaf from all of the shouting!" Everyone, except the meditating girl, groaned at his joke.

"How does a detention sound to you, Mr. Granger?" the principal asked with a smirk.

"Just about the same as last time…."

"Good. Keep it down in here, I am almost done speaking with your friend," the older man explained, and he was about to retreat back within his office when his eyes fell to a single student. "What is she doing?"

He had nodded towards the sole girl of the group of four in confusion. Sitting within her seat between her two companions, she was making little movement and was grinning from ear to ear in broken moments.

"Uh… she's trying to contact her home planet," the second boy stated, "We're hoping today might be the day, as much as we _love_ having her around… we really want what's best for her."

"Uh huh," the man frowned, seemingly unimpressed before slowly re-entering his quarters to deal with the leader. The click of the door told the six children they were safe again, or at least the five that were still on Earth.

"I'm not quite sure which one of you is stupider," Kenny sighed.

"Isn't it more stupid?" the capped boy questioned.

The genius paused for a moment. "Um… I'll get back to you on that."

"So… whose turn is it now?" Hilary asked.

Tyson glanced to her curiously, "What do you mean?"

"We were asking each other where we would rather be," she explained, "So… whose turn is it now?"

"Well, technically it is my turn to ask… her," the second boy frowned as he pointed to the other female beside him. "But she seems to be a little busy… let's just let her live long and prosper."

And just as he finished his sentence with a sigh, the girl's eyes suddenly opened as she leapt from her seat. Recoiling in surprise, the kids let out yelps while she whooped loudly.

"What is she doing…?" Kenny inquired nervously.

"Calling for her fellow species…?" the second boy guessed, covering his ears, "Maybe we should run for it while we still can…?"

"What did I just tell you kids…?" the principal snapped, poking his head out of the doorway again. The noise died as the girl stood sheepishly, kicking the floor shyly. "Are you done?"

"For today," the second boy answered for her, "She didn't make contact… it's sad, I know. At least Kenny still loves her."

"What!"

The adult stood blankly for a moment, his hard gaze on the smart-aleck eighth grader who was attempting not to grin. "Do you like detentions, young man?"

"Um… I think I prefer a lot of other things more so than detention," he stated.

The principal merely sighed and closed the door again. The girl took that as her cue to sit back down, only now she was much quieter, resulting in uneasiness.

"So… does he ever come out of his office?" the second boy questioned, "Or does he just stick his head out?"

"Just sticks his head out," Tyson answered, "My theory: Doesn't really have a body."

"Tyson…," Hilary scolded.

"What? Hear me out," Tyson pleaded.

"Why would we want to hear you speak more than we have to?" the second boy smirked, shaking his head slowly.

"Fine, then I'm not speaking to you," Tyson decided, giving him a glare before looking away.

"Don't you want to ask… _her_ something?" Kenny interrupted, directing his question towards the second boy as he gestured for the oddly quiet girl.

Sighing again, he rolled his eyes. "Hey, Kenny wanted me to ask you something…," the boy began dully.

"You didn't even see it, did you?" the girl accused with a pout.

"Um… see what?"

"_You_ told _me_ that if I imagined what would've happened to my little Kenny-kins you would see it too," the girl explained on the verge of tears, "But all you saw was my joy that he was alive..."

"_Oh_," the second boy smiled nervously, "Right. Uh… about that."

"Her little what…?" the genius asked skeptically.

Tyson grinned broadly, "Be quiet for a moment Kenny-kins, I'm trying to listen."

"That's not funny…," the smaller boy sighed.

"You see… you didn't tell us right when you started, so we were… waiting," the second boy lied, "Um… sorry?"

"That's alright. I could've sworn I told you I was ready though…," the girl frowned, "Anyways, what did Kenny want?"

Her ally's eyes flashed at her words as a smirk found its way to his face. Looking at the genius brunette, he gave a wink before facing his team mate.

"Oh no…," Kenny moaned, covering his face with his hands as he slumped in his seat.

Hilary sighed sympathetically, "I think you might regret pushing the question, Kenny-kins." Her statement earned a laugh from the handcuffed boy beside her.

"It's not funny…."

"Kenny here was just telling me about how he felt he owed a debt to you," the second boy told his accomplice, "He said that he had an idea of how to repay you, but he's a little shy around… _women_."

The genius began to smack his head back against the wall, hoping maybe he could knock himself out. The girl on the other hand seemed a tad bit confused, "But… I didn't do anything."

"That's right!" Kenny added, "So I guess I don't owe her anything!"

The second boy's smile faded momentarily, until an idea came to his mind. "Is that any excuse to attempt to knock yourself out?" he asked sadly, "I know you feel so strongly about this… so I'll ask her anyways."

"No, don't. You really don't have to," Kenny pleaded.

The girl glanced to both of the boys, "What was Kenny-kins' idea?"

"Kenny-kins really wanted to bring you out for dinner and a movie," the second boy grinned, "So… what do you say?"

The girl squealed as she stood up from her seat. "Like a date!" she nearly shrieked, bouncing on her feet while she grinned down at the gawking genius.

"Oh my god, exactly!" the second boy cried, also standing up to jump around the office, "Stuff like this never happens!"

"I know!"

"I know!"

"I know!"

"I know!"

"Yay!" the two kids yelled, joining hands and twirling around in circles as they jumped.

Hilary leaned towards Tyson at this time, giving the two frolicking enemies a strange look. "Do you think they're trying to get us in more trouble?" she questioned the navy haired boy.

"Nah," he shook his head, "Stuff like this always happens."

"Um… children…?"

The laughter and odd behaviour died down as everyone glanced over to see Miss Kincaid in the room. She gave the two dancing children a curious look once she began to move forward, and they soon after took their seats sheepishly.

"What are you doing here, Miss Kincaid?" Tyson inquired, wearing a smile.

"The principal wanted me to come down here to discuss a suspension," she explained, slowly looking over her students.

"Suspension…?" Hilary murmured with wide eyes.

The capped boy took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Miss Kincaid… a suspension for us or _them_?" he sighed.

Their teacher gave him a thoughtful look, "I can't really say at the moment…. I'm sure you will find out soon enough."

Tyson frowned, "Oh, alright."

And then her eyes landed on Kenny. She gaped at her poor student, he was pale, stained with red and looked barely conscious as he lay halfway off the chair. Covering her mouth, she took cautious steps forward.

"Kenny… are you alright?"

He did not reply right away, but his head moved slowly to look up at her almost tiredly. He sighed, "I've… been better."

"Oh, of course," Miss Kincaid replied softly, kneeling in front of his chair. She patted the armrest of his chair twice sighing, she said, "You can make it through this."

Kenny frowned, "I have doubts."

Nodding respectively, she stood up. "Be strong," Miss Kincaid told him before approaching the door of the office and knocking. Her students watched her nervously open the door and enter before reluctantly closing it as she vanished behind it.

"What was that about?" the second boy questioned.

"It was no weirder than your little dance," the third boy snapped, speaking for the first time in a while, "Suspension. Do you know what that means?"

"Um… no more allowance?" his partner guessed.

Glaring, the boy shook his head. "No more plan," he stated, "If we're sent home who's going to stop _them_ from getting along?"

The second boy sneered, "I never thought of that."

"Don't lose hope," the girl told them, "The leader must have a plan; he's the leader after all. I mean… why else would we call him that?"

"Because he's a bossy, little psychopath…?" Tyson guessed with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, you have no right to call him that!" the girl snapped, "He's at least five foot six!"

The third boy stood up, ignoring both his ally and Tyson in the process. "Do you know where I would rather be?" he questioned rhetorically, pointing to himself with the use of his thumb, "The classroom continuing with our plans, and I'm not sure we're going to be able to anymore."

"You guys don't have to worry about a thing…," Tyson smirked from his seat as he crossed his legs, "Even if you weren't being sent home, we would still win."

The third boy sneered, "What makes you think _you're_ not going to be sent home?"

"Us?" Tyson laughed, "For what… getting ambushed with food? I'm pretty sure that isn't against any rule, throwing it on the other hand…."

"The principal doesn't like you though…," the third boy pointed out, "Poor Hilary will have a suspension on her record, and it will be all your fault."

Tyson didn't reply to that, he merely sat in sudden silence. His brunette partner glanced to him curiously before glaring at their smug looking classmate. Pulling on the capped boy's hand, they stood up and boldly approached their enemy.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's yours," Hilary stated, "Don't blame everything on Tyson, especially things that are no way possibly his fault."

The third boy shrugged nonchalantly, walking closer to his allies who stayed seated. Not making the same mistake as his boss, he did not reply.

Then the door to the principal's main office had opened for the third time, revealing Miss Kincaid. Walking slowly out of the room, her eyes found Tyson and Hilary standing. Looking over her shoulder quickly, she nearly ran for the children to stand in front of them.

"Um… Miss Kincaid?" Tyson asked uncertainly, "Uh… you're kind of blocking the view?"

"Stay behind me," the young teacher commanded strongly, "_Please_."

"Okay…," Hilary nodded reluctantly, though both of the handcuffed students peered around Miss Kincaid from a different side.

"I think Miss Kincaid forgot to take her medication this morning…," Tyson whispered to the female he was locked to, causing the teacher to sigh.

The principal and the leader had both exited the room as well, the adult's hand clamped on the moody eighth grader's shoulder. "Guess I'll tell everyone the good news now," the man frowned. His eyes searched everyone within the room, straying in Miss Kincaid's direction temporarily before falling on Hilary. "Miss Tatibana, I didn't realize you were here."

"Tyson and I were attacked," Hilary sighed, "Though… Tyson was the only one to take a hit."

"It appears you were the only one not to take a hit," the principal mused, "I suppose Mr. Granger did do some good, maybe I will forget that detention."

Tyson beamed, shooting the female brunette a grateful look as a thank you.

"Anyways, this young man has told me about what happened in the cafeteria," the principal continued, his gaze landed on the other three people within the room, "I would like to apologize to you firstly."

"Oh?" the second boy asked skeptically.

"I thought you three had been part of the scheme, but it has been explained that you were merely pushed into this like the others," the principal explained, "That is why this young man is the only one being sent home."

The leader sighed, "I'm sorry he believed my actions were your plans as well."

"That's alright," the third boy shrugged.

"Miss Kincaid, I need you to follow me and sign a few forms. I'm sure the students know their way back to their classroom."

Following the adults out of the room, the students soon separated in the opposite direction. Once out of hearing range, Tyson, Hilary and Kenny turned to face the group of four.

"Why didn't you try to take us down with you?" the capped boy demanded.

"We can't win if you're not here," the leader smirked smugly; his statement caused cheers to erupt amongst his allies.

"But wait," the girl said sadly, "If you're not here… who's going to lead us?"

The leader faced his group with a frown. "This last week… it's been… amazing. Scheming with you guys, pushing around Kenny… coming up with evil plans and laughing at them… those were some good times… and I'm really going to miss them."

The third boy pulled a smile, "I know what you mean, Sir. We'll do our best to make you proud."

"I promised myself I wouldn't do this…," the second boy muttered, hiding his face with his hand.

"I'll always remember you Mister leader, Sir," the girl cried, wiping her eyes.

"I've decided on my replacement," the leader said softly, placing a hand on the third boy's shoulder, "Please, make me proud."

The third boy nodded, "Just call me Captain."

"Aye, aye," the leader smiled, tears welling in his eyes, "Aye… aye…."

"Is this uncomfortable for you guys to watch too?" Kenny murmured, looking at the handcuffed pair. Glancing to him, both merely shrugged.

"Tyson," the leader said, turning to face him in determination, "It's been… _something_ trying to destroy your relationship for the last week. I very much doubt our rivalry will ever rise again unless you plan on selling chocolate bars later in the year."

The navy haired boy quirked an eye brow at his statement, "You think we're rivals…?"

The leader sneered, "I'll have you know one thing… we will not lose, you are going down. Now, if you'll excuse me… I must bid thee farewell, I'm so grounded I won't see the light for the next year."

And with that the six peers watched the boy walk further down the hall; never looking over his should for one final glance. Tyson sighed, craning his neck to look another way.

"There goes the biggest psychopath I've ever met…."

**A/N**: I have never been sent to the office before, but I'm sure this is exactly what happens... Oh, and that earlier comment about Max was a plug about Max/Mariam in case it wasn't clear. Yeah… now if could, please review? Thanks a lot for reading!


	19. Chapter 18: Make My Heart Go Thud

**A/N: **So, once again, it has been quite a while… only this time I am feeling confident with how this chapter turned out. After reading through everything I've written, I think it's safe to say I covered and wrapped everything up in this chapter, but in case I missed something… please tell me. I would like to thank **Black Wolf Jaganshi Lover**, **Moonlight Serenity**, **Musee.Picasso**, **NKingy**, **Sony89**, **Beyblader**, **dong-chun-mei**, **Party in the Afterlife**, **sanaa**, **Muffinsweetz**, **Unfunny Joke** and **glitch** for the reviews, they really mean a lot.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade or any of the cereal slogans; I used them because _they're_ great! XD

Chapter Eighteen: Make My Heart Go Thud

Miss Kincaid had come to a decision. If the school were to come alive, the floors opening at her very feet as tiles formed sharp teeth to swallow her into a pit of oblivion, she would be alright with it.

And as she stood rigidly at the front of her class, her gaze returning expectant and curious eyes, her mind told her the floor was about to give out. Her knees would buckle at the last moment, being too weak to stand. Not that it would matter, she knew she would plummet into nothing, she also knew _they_ would be watching.

But Miss Kincaid had to wonder why this motion was taking so long; was it because she half wanted it, or expected it? She had come too close to being found out, for everything she worked for to crash down before her.

She felt as if the world was unravelling before her eyes, breaking into pieces of regret and ridicule. She mentally smacked herself in the head for her stupidity as her pulse climbed alongside her anxiety. She was at fault for everything, and it made her sick.

Broken friendships, betrayal, arguments, gangs, fights, riots… all formed because of one miserable night. One night where her weeping caused her throat to become more hoarse than usual, where her shaking disrupted any comfort she may have felt, where words crafted in pencil never looked more appealing. That one night when evil took a hold of her and was reluctant to let go.

Now Miss Kincaid's order was disrupted, that lovely saviour that sat on her desk was abruptly changed and she didn't like it. It did not ease her in the least; she loved consistency, a plan where she knew what was going to happen. Or at least… she thought she did. But when it came to the continuous nature of an intense pair of teenagers this was not the case.

Maybe it wasn't monotony she loved after all, maybe it was power. The sudden surge of life that coursed through her veins as she gave commands, the relief of keeping everything in place just the way she liked it. And when that world was threatened she had been pushed to her limit, so she had to find a new way to control it.

Was it her fault that it had come in the form of handcuffs? A beautiful contraption that's source of power revolved around a key, and whoever held this key suddenly gained the likes of immortality. And unfortunately it had temporarily slipped through her fingers; her position had fallen, switched with the other players of the game. A game she had began with dire hope, a game she would hope to end before it got to her.

_Don't make me go back… please…._

That voice… that fear. It seemed so far away, but it was coming back. Slowly it would stride, taking firm steps to take her over, a dry, soundless scream sitting within her throat taunted her.

She was holding her breath, she realized. Her shoulders were stiff, her body straight against the chalkboard. The children's eyes were bearing straight into hers, and she could no longer read them. Though her mind was alert, catching every subtle movement that occurred, she was unable to comprehend the odd message that was sent to her brain as they were disrupted by blistering headaches.

Miss Kincaid was supposed to be teaching Social Studies now, as it has been every Friday since school was in session. But no, not today. The elegant blue letters written within her organized planner had been disturbed by hectic chicken scratch saying otherwise. The principal had other plans for her class this afternoon, and she supposed she should be grateful.

His anger and disappointment had been quite evident as they had spoken earlier. His mind reeling over the fact that one class had morphed the thoughts of others to trash the cafeteria, all bent over rage. He demanded to know who gave them the idea to resort to this behaviour to solve problems, who had been their example.

And she knew all too well who taught them how to act upon these dangerous feelings of revenge. It was the same person who taught them the formula for volume, and the same person who reminded them to study for the test next Tuesday. Only she had not answered, her mouth remained sealed as she nodded obediently.

Luck, in its own twisted, mocking way, was on Miss Kincaid's side. Her heart had been racing when she saw Tyson and Hilary standing side by side within the office, metal binding them together by their wrists. It was to her amazement, and quick actions, that the principal continued to be oblivious to her little math lesson.

Everything at that single moment could have been lost. These sort of actions would have concluded with her _dream_ job slipping from her fingertips, and who knew what else.

Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all….

But something out there was looking over her, and the principal in his haze of anger and disappointment had made a simple order. "Teach them a little something about responsibility," he had said, his appearance had looked awfully worn as he dismissed her from his quarters.

And now she stood weak, anxious, stressed, sickened, much to her students' curiosity. She was unreadable, blank with dread and glazed eyes that hid haunting fear.

But the floor remained stubborn, not giving away just yet, so Miss Kincaid was pushed further. Her limit was far gone though, left in dusty remains where she had been dragged away, her nails etched in the ground with blatant refusal. She wasn't quite sure how much she could take.

Nonetheless, she turned to face the chalkboard, her world blurring slightly in the process. And her hand consoled her head as she paused, the headaches pounding angrily along with the dizzy behaviour of her eyes.

"One more hour…," she murmured to herself, massaging her temple in a dire attempt to ease her pain.

Miss Kincaid's eyes fell to the long and slender piece of chalk on the ledge, and she sighed remembering the fear it conveyed. It triggered events, creating unruly scenes of disobedient behaviour; and now she found it ironic that she thought it could be used otherwise. So it changed things for one week, building single lines of power, next week it will just begin another game….

Picking it up, she studied the substance carefully. Twirling it slightly within her fingers, she frowned, realizing what it had caused her over the past months. She snapped it in half, miniscule pieces falling to the floor, feeling the eyes of her students continue to dig into her from behind.

She wrote a single word on the chalkboard with haste before circling it and facing the children again. And by the time she had turned around the momentary anger lapse had melted behind a front she often put up, one that told others that she knew what she was doing, that she was meant for this job.

"Does anyone know what this word means?" she inquired, and she had to wonder if this question bothered the metal bound students in her class. It's what initiated the plan, and sparked the present game to come alive.

And just like that very day, Hilary's hand rose high above her head while others sat in boredom. So she called upon the brunette with a simple nod, having her stand up before the class.

"Responsibility," she began, "Is the act of being independent, to be able to speak for your actions and decisions, and your ability to fulfill obligations. Essentially, it's being reliable, trustworthy, and knowing what is right from wrong."

"Very nice, Hilary," Miss Kincaid noted, smiling wryly as the girl sat down, "Now I would like you kids to group up for a few minutes to discuss examples of being responsible, and then you'll tell what you found to the class. And please… no riots."

The children in her class shot regretful gazes towards her before grouping together. And she slowly made her way to her chair, taking the well needed seat to clear her head, now ridiculing herself for giving these students the opportunity to mingle amongst one another. The prospect was never a good one, especially when concerning certain groups.

"Well troops, let us gather," the third boy demanded as he donned a forced deeper voice, reminding his team mates he was now the captain, "We have important topics on our agenda."

"Gee, declare it to the world why don't you?" the second boy scowled, rolling his eyes as he turned to look at the newly promoted fellow.

"Jealousy isn't a pretty colour," the captain smirked.

"That's probably because it isn't a colour…."

The sole girl of their shrinking group looked back at the two boys with a confused expression. "I thought it was a green shade?"

"It really isn't important; we all know the leader chose me because I have the highest intellect and am the most promising," the captain shrugged nonchalantly, "Now I think all of us understand what we're trying to figure out."

"Yep. And I think it's taking out the trash," the girl nodded, confident with her answer.

"I like your style," the captain grinned. "We do need to take _them_ out."

"Or else we'll be grounded," she added.

Seeing the captain's sudden blank expression made the second boy snort. "Wow, that I.Q. of yours is through the roof," he sneered, crossing his arms, "The real reason we're gathered here isn't because of you, it's because of Miss Kincaid."

The girl smiled brightly, "Oh? Do you want me to grab her so she can join us?"

"No," the second boy sighed, grabbing onto her arm gently in case she were to run off, "Listen, we're going to discuss ways of saving our chances and ruining Tyson and Hilary's… but we have to be subtle. Do you understand?"

Staring at him silently, she had soon formed another grin to wear on her lips. "You have really pretty eyes!"

Frowning in disgust and part defeat, his hand fell from where he held her. "Uh…," he paused momentarily, "What about Kenny-kins?"

"Well… you really can't see his eyes."

The third boy glared at his male comrade, "Are you trying to steal my position by barking orders like that? Only I can tell you what to do, and I say we have to think of a way to save ourselves."

"Well, I'm glad you thought of that ingenious plan… my miniscule brain wouldn't have been able to comprehend that complexity," the second boy shot back, "So, how do you say we go about it?"

"I say we trick them."

"Silly rabbit, _tricks_ are for kids."

"Do you have a problem with tricking them?"

"No, _we_ have a problem with tricking them," the second boy pointed out with an unimpressed tone, "They're sort of expecting it, buddy. We told them up front we're going after them, so we can't exactly tip toe if we're planning a tackle."

"I knew it! You're trying to ruin my chances of succeeding," the captain shook his head, "I thought we were friends. Just because the leader could see that you wouldn't last with a job like this, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me."

"Yeah, and just because you're head grew ten times what it was ten minutes ago, doesn't mean you have to go around head butting people," he stated, "I'm just trying to help us win."

"And we can't do that with me, huh?" the third boy shouted, jabbing his finger in his partner's direction, "My plans are ingenious!"

"I'm sure they're magically delicious," he said tiredly, "But… now with what happened earlier, we need to change strategically."

"I'm sure you'd like that…."

"Ugh," came a disapproving grunt from the back of the room, and when the once group of four looked they saw Tyson leaning tiredly in his chair. Yawning, the capped boy sighed, "You realize this is a classroom, right? You should really use your inside voices."

"So you can get your well needed beauty sleep?" the captain smirked, trying out his witty banter.

Tyson was unfazed by the comment as he shrugged. "Whatever. I just wanted to tell you that arguing in a learning environment isn't very considerate to others…."

"You're one to talk."

"I _know_…. Why do people keep saying that to me?"

Miss Kincaid rubbed her eyes in an attempt to erase the blurry images before her while her students grew louder. Realizing that it was not aiding her in the least bit, she decided to ignore it and she clapped her hands together twice, grabbing the attention of reluctant kids.

"Let's discuss what we found…," she said softly, rising slowly and nearly unsuccessfully to her feet. For a head that hurt so much it appeared as though nothing was in it, being weak and dazed. "Uh… Hilary, if you wouldn't mind, could you write our findings on the board?"

The female brunette looked up concerned from her books to shoot a quizzical glance at the relaxed boy beside her. "Sure thing, Miss Kincaid," she agreed before adding, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," the young woman lied through her teeth, wearing a thin smile that threatened to fall apart.

"Okay…," Hilary stated uncertainly, and she again stood up as Tyson did so himself. Walking up together to the front of the room, she leaned closer to him when she murmured, "She looks terrible…."

"I told you that," the boy shot her an annoyed look, "Lucky for you, I'm not going to get on your case about it."

Ignoring him, she continued, "Do you think she caught the flu or something, maybe she should go home?"

"Don't say that," Tyson demanded, his tone careful, "Then we'll just have to go through another day like this one… do you want that?"

She was the first to stop when they reached the chalkboard. "As much fun as it was," she said sarcastically, "I can't say that I do. I'm just thinking about other people, Tyson…."

"I understand that," he smiled gently, "But she's probably just worn from all the stress. Imagine if she felt like this everyday because of insensitive kids who can't keep their emotions under control?"

Smiling back, she nodded, "I hope you're right."

"Ahem," the captain coughed loudly, breaking the concentration between Tyson and Hilary. Smirking, the boy attempted to sit casually back within his chair, but it ended miserably with him almost sailing to the ground. Clutching the desk behind him, he carried on, "You realize this is a classroom, right? You should really use your… um… er… not so… secretive voices…."

Tyson sent the brunette beside him a confused look, he frowned, "Did that make sense to you?"

Clapping sarcastically from his seat, the second boy tried to stifle his grin. "Nice comeback, again… wow, thank God I didn't get to be the leader, I don't think I could ever match up to your greatness."

Glaring at him, the Captain regained his composure, "Listen, I don't need you pointing out my… minor mistakes, what will they think of me?"

"Man," Tyson rolled his eyes, turning his attention to Miss Kincaid, "I think you should handcuff them together next… honestly."

"Ha," the second boy scowled, "We just want you two to keep your couple antics at a minimum; you don't really need them anyways… nobody believes you anymore."

"Unlike your understudy there, I don't care what the others think," the capped boy shrugged as he leaned against the chalkboard, "I believe it, and so does Hil."

And on that cue, Tyson smiled while looking to his left at Hilary. Staring at him momentarily, she gave a slight smile in return before she reminded, "Responsibility guys, what does it mean?"

The navy haired boy's expression had fell at that moment, having little reply to the statement he was confident in. He shot her a befuddled look, but she soon evaded his gaze when she went to grab a piece of chalk.

"Hey, don't turn away from me," Tyson hissed, circling to her other side so that they were facing the chalkboard, "What was that…? Don't you believe it?"

"What, our act? Oh yeah, I'd give it a five out of five," she murmured back, "Maybe we should just give it up, I mean… they basically know."

"Know what?" he questioned, his voice rising with edge, "We've been over this a million times, please stop changing your answers."

"Well, I would… but I'm not as confident about it as you are," Hilary stated, maintaining her whisper, "And will you shut-up, everyone can hear you."

Licking his lips, he nodded obediently. He then rested his free hand on her shoulder and levelled his gaze to hers, "Remember my breakfast? Remember how I brought you flowers? Remember how I kissed you? Well… I meant it, meant it like the wind."

Hilary opened her mouth to reply, when she suddenly became puzzled. Quirking an eyebrow at the boy, she inquired, "Like… the wind?"

He let his hand fall off her shoulder before he threw her a weak smile. "I was trying to be romantic."

"You meant it like the wind?" Hilary repeated, failing to stifle her giggling at the boy's expense.

He gave her a bemused expression, "I'm just a fish meaning like the wind."

"Kids…," Miss Kincaid sighed faintly, trying to lean against the chalkboard in a way that did not express her weakness, "There's a point to all of this, and we can't get to it until we discuss our findings…."

The second boy raised his hand in an innocent manner as he wore a pleasant smile. The young teacher was reluctant to call upon him, but seeing how no one else was taking part, she nodded in his direction.

The boy's smile grew thicker as he rose from his seat. Crossing his arms, he looked straight at the handcuffed pair. "Well, like Hilary said, responsibility is owning up to your actions and being able to speak for them. But if your actions are wrong, say lying to win some type of prize, doesn't that make you irresponsible?"

Miss Kincaid shifted her weight as she thought about the question. "I… suppose, in a sense. If they were to own up to their actions then they would be taking responsibility for them."

"So they ultimately lose if these people were found out," the second boy concluded, "That seems fair, they were cheating after all."

"How is that cheating?" Tyson questioned with a scowl, "They're just lying, for all we know they could be changing their name."

"Ah yes, identity theft… there's a perfectly moral route to responsibility," the arrogant boy snorted, being sent a glare from the captain.

"Do _you_ really want to talk about morals?" Tyson snapped, "Hurling pudding at people isn't exactly a mature way to settle disputes."

"And kissing some girl to make the class swoon with awe is quite the low blow to win a math project," he replied, "But of course those are totally different matters."

The capped boy balled his hands at his sides as his jaw clenched. "Some girl? Hilary isn't just some girl."

"We already know Tyson, she's your girl…," the second boy smirked, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "You simply have to repeat yourself because we won't believe."

"What part of me being captain, don't you understand?" the third boy blurted out, waving his arms in the air to catch his attention.

"Obviously the 'me' part, he does seem rather egotistical," Tyson frowned.

"_Me_?"

"See, I told you so."

"Ugh, that's not the point!" the captain yelled further, "When the leader was around, he made all the decisions – hiring Kenny, stealing the key, organizing the food fight – now it's my turn. I'm in charge, what do you have to say about that?"

The second boy was aghast, his mouth hanging open as he regarded his fellow team mate. The room had fallen silent when he collapsed in his seat, his head in his hands with complete disbelief.

"You idiot!" the girl shrieked, her eyes wide at their new leader's full confession, "What did you do that for?"

The captain had not caught on, but having the impression that he did something wrong, his anger quickly subsided. "What… did I do?"

Tyson grinned broadly, "Sabotage, that sure seems like responsibility to me. Interfering with the project has to be an automatic win for us, right Miss Kincaid?"

The young teacher was unsure, her thoughts slipping in and out as she rested against the wall. "I… um… well…," she stumbled.

"Too bad that wasn't part of the contract," the second boy pointed out, "She can't change the rules in the midst of a game; therefore we must follow through with what has occurred in the past."

"That's true…," Hilary agreed softly.

"Miss Kincaid, they have been arguing on and off all day," the boy continued, "It's in my plea that they obviously still can't get along; point for us."

"Oh yeah, well it's in my plea that we've been through a lot today and it has made us stronger people," Tyson stated, "Our bond has never been better; point for us."

"Counterpoint," Hilary added, looking at the second boy, "The only people we've been arguing with are you guys, and the rules don't say anything about that either."

Grinning, the capped boy nodded. "See? For the past few days, the only reason there's been conflict in this room is because of you. And thanks to that great, new leader of yours, everyone knows it's your fault."

The captain scowled, "Aww man…."

"But…," the second boy sneered, refusing to give up on this, "You sabotaged the project first, you're lying to win! How is better than us?"

"What are we lying about?" Hilary inquired, she smiled sympathetically to the navy haired boy she was tethered to, "Something changed between us… and maybe we forced it, but that isn't lying."

"It's still cheating!" the second boy stressed.

"How?" Kenny voiced his opinion, "They were trying to express that they care about one another, they were trying to get along. You can't cheat by following the rules."

Tyson and Hilary paused at the statement, their eyes lighting with realization as they slowly turned to their teacher in awe. She _knew_ the whole time, every little thing that would happen between them.

But she was far away compared to them, her mind not struggling to follow their conversations anymore, but slipping further into a comforting darkness. She fought to remain standing, the floor was bending under her, smiling as it wanted to give loose. She knew it would soon; the world was blurring again, her eyes wavering to keep hold of images before her.

Not that anybody noticed, Tyson had turned slowly to face Hilary. His gaze was calm momentarily, until his nerves took a hold of his smile.

"You know…," he began, uttering words under his breath as he fought to hold her gaze, "I was… you know… er… wondering if you _and_ I could, well, go out to dinner… or not, either ones cool really?"

Hilary lowered her eyes to the floor briefly, trying to conceal the smile that embraced her lips. "Smoothest thing in history, eh?" she stifled her laughter.

Tyson smirked, taking hold of her hand, he pulled her closer. "Funny. But this definitely will be…."

Miss Kincaid heard their voices faintly; the weight giving in at her knees, she could feel the floor quaking as her world faded slowly. Flickering with hope, she put a hand limply on her desk and another on the wall while focusing on the handcuffed pair. She needed to remain ready; anything could happen, the possibilities were endless.

And the capped boy shyly leaned forward, the females of the room swooning, as he reluctantly neared Hilary. Smiling at his familiar behaviour, the brunette draped her free arm around his neck, bringing him closer for their lips to barely brush when….

_Thud!_

"My heart's never done that before…."

Hilary pulled away somewhat from Tyson; her gaze was one of puzzlement until it dropped to the floor. "That wasn't your heart Tyson…," she said slowly, concern rising within her voice.

Following her gaze, his jaw dropped, "Oh no…."

The second boy leapt to his feet, racing towards the door. "I'll go get the principal, help… something!"

"Miss Kincaid! Is she breathing?" Kenny asked frantically, him and other classmates gathered around the fallen and unconscious form of their teacher.

"I think so…," the captain deduced, his eyes wide, searching for answers amongst his fellow classmates.

Hilary looked at Tyson in distraught, "This is terrible…."

"I know, now we'll never know who won."

**A/N:** Well, there you have it. All that's left is the epilogue, so… if you wouldn't mind; could you tell me your thoughts on the chapter? Thanks for your time.


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: **So, here we are. I'm not going to put an ending author note like I usually do, so please allow me to ramble for a moment. I just wanted to thank everyone for reading and reviewing, Teacher's Revenge did a lot better then I ever dreamed it would. So it really means a lot. And to those people who put my story or me on your favourites and alerts – a tip of the hat to you. I'd greatly appreciate it if you left your thoughts after the epilogue, and though I can't thank you with the greatness that is bold lettering, I will be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks go to the following for reviewing the last chapter: **NKingy**, **Sakura-Moonlight**, **Sony89**, **Moonlight Serenity**, **Musee.Picasso**, **dong-chun-mei**, **Unfunny Joke**, **Party in the Afterlife**, **gliitch** and **sanaa**.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade.

Epilogue

She didn't understand.

She had fallen deep into oblivion, collapsing into the darkness underneath her and now… now she was in the sky. The clouds had caught her, huddling together softly, she could feel them surrounding her. And she knew if she were to open her eyes all she would see was white.

White masses coming together to hide her, enveloping the world before her so no purple could grab her, seize her into her nightmares. She loved these clouds, they protected her, they made her feel safe.

But it still bothered her, how she had fallen, and still was, but under the comfort of the sky. When would it stop? Her mind was reeling in panic, but these clouds provided comfort. She had never realized before, but these clouds felt _real_. She touched one with her hand, yet unlike she had imagined, she had not grazed water droplets, but a surface. It was smooth and it sunk when she put pressure further on it, so she had stopped out of nerves.

Then she remembered.

Opening her eyes tiredly, Miss Kincaid sat up, reluctantly welcoming in her surroundings. Ridiculing herself for once again forgetting because of the depths of her dreams, she regarded the _clouds_ around her, and they suddenly weren't so comforting.

She fortunately didn't get to dwell on the constant thought for very long, a rap was heard from one of the walls of _clouds_ and it had caught her attention. Soon after, a door was revealed, breaking through the masses as bright fluorescent lights bombarded the young teacher. Squinting while her eyes adjusted, someone strode into the room.

It was an older woman that reminded Miss Kincaid of her Mother, only more butch and a little taller. "Kincaid," she said, her voice sounded rather rusty as she adorned a pleasant smile for the fragile women on the ground, "You have visitors."

Staring blankly at the other woman, she questioned hopefully, "Is it my Mother…?"

"Afraid not kid," she answered sympathetically, "And like I've said before, you're going to have to stay until she thinks you feel better."

"So I'm not being released…," Miss Kincaid deduced, staring sadly at the room before her.

"That's why I said visitors," the woman reminded grittily, "Come on, we have strict hours for these sorts of things. You don't want to keep them waiting."

The young teacher carefully stood up, her legs shaking at the notion, and she clumsily took the aid of the other woman. They slowly exited the confines of the room, the _clouds_ now behind her as she was lead to a wheelchair. She gratefully and cautiously took the seat, the world now seeming rather busy.

"How do you feel?" the woman asked, reading into Miss Kincaid's tense behaviour, "Are you having a panic attack?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head, "Just… not used to the commotion."

Pushing the chair into motion, the woman nodded. "That's normal for other patients to do as well, don't worry."

Miss Kincaid merely grunted in reply.

"Well Hun, due to time restraints you won't be talking to these kids for very long," the woman sighed, pushing Miss Kincaid down a long hallway, "If only they hadn't come so late."

The young teacher's eyes widened as she peered over her shoulder. "K-kids…?" she stuttered weakly, "I… I don't think it's a good time… I suddenly don't feel so well."

"Nice try," the woman said, shaking her head, "These are good kids coming all the way out here just to see you, quite the cute couple as well."

Miss Kincaid sulked in the chair, the hallway leading into a rather large room. "They're also the reason why I'm here in the first place…," she muttered under her breath, regarding her surroundings once again.

Other patients were situated in the room as well; each individual sitting in front of a Plexiglas window, their visitor in the other area as they sat on opposite sides of a desk. Not having been in the room before, Miss Kincaid watched curiously as these people talked through phones with those that were free. Her _clouds_ were no longer liberating.

"Well, here we are," the woman said, pushing her chair to a halt and pulling Miss Kincaid's attention to her visitors. "Have fun."

Her gaze met that of a navy haired boy's first, his eyes lighting up as he gestured for her to pick up the phone. And she did, shakily taking the receiver within her grasp and lifting it up to her ear. He quickly did the same, wearing a grin as he waved to her through the window.

"Miss Kincaid!" Tyson practically shouted, causing his companion to flinch at his volume, "Heh… sorry, Hil."

Rolling her eyes, the brunette seized the phone from his grasp. "How are you doing? Are you alright? We've been so worried about you."

And before she was even able to murmur an answer, Tyson had interrupted. "Of course she's not alright; she's in a loony-bin! By the way Miss Kincaid, why are _you_ here anyways? You're not crazy."

Hearing his proclamation, people had stopped speaking, and those that were able to see him had shot dirty looks. Hilary somewhat slouched further in her seat, sending Tyson a glare as she again took a hold of the phone.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Miss Kincaid," her female pupil apologized as Tyson seemed rather oblivious as to why. "Our main concern is if you're alright, did you get our cards?"

Their teacher turned confused, she softly questioned, "Did you send them here?"

"We sent them your Mom's way, we figured they would get to you faster," Tyson stated, leaning in Hilary's direction so that they both could speak.

Forcing a smile, Miss Kincaid replied, "Well I'm sure I'll get them some time then."

"Are you getting out soon, Miss Kincaid?" Hilary asked hopefully, "All of us really miss you."

"Yeah," Tyson agreed, "Plus it sort of feels like you're in jail, talking to you behind glass and all…." Pausing for a moment, he looked around the room before whispering, "You're not in jail, are you?"

Miss Kincaid stared at him skeptically, "No."

"Oh good, that's a relief. I thought I just insulted a room full of convicts," Tyson sighed.

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure when I get out," she stated sadly, ignoring the navy haired boy altogether, "But I won't be returning to the classroom…."

"You mean, right away…?" Hilary inquired.

Miss Kincaid paused, "I… don't know."

"You can't do this!" Tyson disagreed, "Miss Kincaid, you _have_ to come back. You're our teacher."

"They have replacements…," she told him meekly.

"Actually…," Hilary spoke up reluctantly, "That's another reason why we're here… on behalf of the class, we have come across a problem."

The young woman gulped as she fidgeted within her seat. "And… what would that be… exactly?" she asked.

"It's about the test," Tyson simply stated, "Our sub has been trying to give us one on probability, but everyone has been refusing to do it. So, he went to the principal…."

"Oh…," Miss Kincaid frowned, her world suddenly falling apart further.

"Well, we explained we were having a… experiment of sorts that determined who had to write the test," Hilary continued, "But nobody knows who won."

"Do you see our problem?" Tyson questioned, "You never had the chance to crown the winner… we _need_ to know who won."

Miss Kincaid shook her head slowly, licking her lips as they bared a smile. "I already announced who won."

The capped boy became puzzled, "What…? No you didn't. I would've remembered something like that."

"Do you kids remember what happened on the second day you were handcuffed?" Miss Kincaid sighed, both lowered their gazes in embarrassment, "You got wrapped around a pole and refused to move until the other did so themselves."

"Yeah," Tyson mumbled, "You said it was one of the most immature things you ever saw us do, and that nothing we could do would change that."

"The same thing happened on Friday," she stated.

"So… we lost," Tyson said defeated, sitting back in his chair with a scowl.

"You made real progress. You were there for each other, defending and protecting one another… I had never been more proud of you two," Miss Kincaid reminded, "And there's nothing you can do to change _that_."

The capped boy levelled his gaze with hers as he slowly sat back up within his chair. "You mean… we won?"

Smiling, she nodded, "You won, Tyson."

"Yes!" he shouted loudly, wrapping his arm around Hilary roughly before planting a kiss on her cheek. "Oh man, we did it! I knew we won; wait 'til those other guys hear about this…."

Laughing, Hilary pushed him away lightly. "Thank you, Miss Kincaid," she said, "I really hope you come back, you're a great teacher."

"I…," Miss Kincaid looked down to her lap in shame, "Don't know about that…."

"Miss Kincaid," Tyson said seriously, taking the phone fully away from the brunette beside him, "Take a vacation, go see your Mom… but please come back. We know we're not the best students and we sometimes can get into some trouble, but if this Math lesson taught me anything… it's that you believe in us."

Staring at him speechlessly now, she stammered through incoherent words as she searched for the right thing to say. Not finding anything, she nodded gently hoping it got her point across.

"We should really go, Miss Kincaid," Hilary told her with a frown, "It was nice seeing you."

The pair had stood up, Tyson holding the phone with one hand to his ear while the other took a hold of Hilary's. Smiling, he held up their interlinked fingers towards their teacher. "They may not be metal, but they do the job."

Miss Kincaid watched with a loose smile as he ended the call and led Hilary out of the room, waving until they were out of sight. She lowered the receiver from her ear, the dial tone dead as it rest in her hand.

"Seem like nice kids," the young teacher nearly jumped as the same Mother-like figure approached her again. Silently agreeing, Miss Kincaid hung up her phone and sat back in the wheelchair, ready to retreat to the _sky_.

A buzzing noise was then heard, and the older woman frowned as she revealed a beeper from her pocket.

"Looks like I'm going to have to run, Kincaid. Cray will bring you back to your room," the woman explained, waving someone over that she was unable to see before dashing off.

A young man a few years younger than her had soon appeared in front of her, adorning a large smile. "My name is Cray Zimmer, but you can call me _Cray-Zee_."

Giving him an odd look, he took a hold of her wheelchair and began to push her out of the room and into the hallway. She inquired, "Are you allowed to make jokes like that?"

Laughing weakly, he grimaced, "I suppose I shan't be using that one anymore."

"I don't recommend it."

"So… those kids you were talking to, you don't happen to be their teacher, do you?" Cray asked curiously, "Because I actually aspire to be one someday, this is just a part time job to pay for Teacher's College."

Miss Kincaid looked over her shoulder to see the young man again, he seemed rather proud of his statement as if it was the best idea in the world, thoughts of obedient students bowing politely as they greeted him, extending knowledge amongst generations.

"Do you have any advice?"

Behind her stood a young man, strong and determined. His eyes lit with a passion that told her this was what he wanted, it was his dream. And she had been him, had the same thoughts and wanted the same things. So she knew exactly what to say….

"Become a dentist."


End file.
